BF  JOHNSON  PUBLISHING  CO  RICHMOND  VA 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES, 


FIVE  BOOKS,  PAPER,  10  CENTS  EACH. 
ONE  BOOK,  CLOTH,  50  CENTS 


Two  Indian  Boys. 
Visit  to  a  Strange  Land. 
Loss  of  a  Silver  Cup. 


The  First  Governor. 
The  Tardy  Governor. 
John  Lawson  and  the  Alli- 
gators. 

The  Carolina  Pirate. 

Daniel  Boone. 

Tryon  and  the  Regulators. 


The  Noble  Four  Hundred. 
Cornwallis  in  a  Hornets' 

Nest. 
The  Heroes  of  Mclntyre's. 


Minute  Men  of  the  Hills. 
Cornwallis  on  the  Run. 
A  Strange  Night  Attack. 


FIR5T   BOOK. 

Lane's  Search  for  Gold. 
The  Lord  of  Roanoke. 
Story  of  Virginia  Dare. 


A  Sad  Grandfather. 
The  First  Settlement. 
Cattle  Ranch  on  Cape  F<~ar. 


iECOND   BOOK. 

The  Albemarle  Boss.  Capture  of  Fort  Barnwell. 

An  Adventure  on  the  Neuse.   Capture  of  Fort  Nahucke. 
An  Indian  Massacre.  King  Blunt 

THIRD    BOOK. 

British  Stamps  at  Wilming-  Second  Sound  of  Liberty's 

ton.  Bell. 

The  Edenton  Tea  Party.  The  Fair  Tory. 

First  Sound  of  Liberty's  Bell.  Defeat  of  the  Tories. 

FOURTH   BOOK. 

Rough  Riders  of  the  Smokies.  Adventures  of  an  American 
General  Greene  Without  a        Spy. 

Penny.  Death  of  the  Bugler  Boy. 

The  Fall  of  a  Patriot.  How  Colonel  Pyle  Saved 

Tarleton. 


FIFTH    BOOK. 

A  Brave  Woman's  Wit. 
The  Tory  Bandit. 
Hunter's  Stone  Steps. 


The  State  of  Franklin. 

Story  of  Bath. 

An  Old-Time  School. 


B.  F.  JOHNSON  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 


NORTH   CAROLINA 


HISTORY  STORIES 


BY 

W.   C.   ALLEN, 
Superintendent  Waynesville,  N.  C.,  City  Schools 


RICHMOND 

B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Company 
1901 


Copyright,  1901,  by  W.  C.  Allen. 


All  rights  reserved. 


131.— H.P. 


FZSS 


PREFACE 


In  presenting  this  little  volume  to  the  children  of  North  Carolina 
2J    there  are  two  objects  in  view: 

QC 

£2        1.  To  stimulate  study  in  North  Carolina  history. 

2.  To  give  supplementary  reading  matter,  containing  interesting 
facts. 
"w       For  the  promotion  of  these  objects  the  author  has  selected  events 

CM 

>    and  incidents  that  have  interest  in  themselves,  and  has  told  them  in 
§ 

words  simple  enough  for  a  child  to  understand. 

The  stories  close  with  the  eighteenth  century,  and  embrace  a  por- 
c|     tion  of  the  two  preceding  centuries.    If  a  desire  to  know  more  of 

X.     the  history  of  North  Carolina  be  aroused,   the   chief   object   of   the 

O 

§     writer  will  have  been  attained. 

J*|  Thanks  are  due  Dr.  Richard  Dillard,  of  Edenton,  for  facts  relative 
Q  to  the  Edenton  Tea  Party,  and  to  Major  Graham  Daves  for  valuable 
'  aid. 


Suggestions  to  Teachers 


To  get  the  best  results  from  the  use  of  this  book,  the  following 
suggestions  may  be  helpful: 

1.  Let  pupils  study  each  story  until  it  is  thoroughly  learned.     To 
accomplish   this,   have  them   write  a  topical   outline.     Pupils   will 
readily  do  this  if  they  are  assisted  a  few  times  by  the  teacher. 

2.  Let  pupils  read  the  story  aloud  in  class  by  paragraphs.    Do  not 
stop  them  for  mispronunciations  until  the  paragraph  is  finished. 

3.  Let   a   number   of   pupils   write   their   topical    outlines   at   the 
board.    Then  let  all  read  them  and  offer  corrections  and  criticisms. 

4.  Call  upon  pupils  to  tell  the  story  in  their  own  words. 

5.  Let  pupils  write  the  story  in  their  own  words  in  a  composi- 
tion book  for  that  purpose. 

If  this  method,  or  one  similar  to  it,  be  followed,  much  benefit  will 
be  derived. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  I. 

PAGE 

Two  Indian  Boys , 9 

Visit  to  a  Strange  Land 13 

The  Loss  of  a  Silver  Cup 17 

Lane's  Search  for  Gold 20 

The  Lord  of  Roanoke 25 

Story-  of  Virginia  Dare 29 

A  Sad  Grandfather 34 

The    First    Settlement 38 

A   Cattle   Ranch   on  the  Cape 

Fear  42 

BOOK  II. 

The  First  Governor 7 

The  Tardy  Governor 11 

John    Lawson    and    the    Alli- 
gators    15 

The   Albemarle   Boss 19 

An  Adventure  on  the  Neuse.  ...  24 

An  Indian  Massacre 32 

Capture  of  Fort  Barnwell 36 

Capture  of  Fort  Nahucke 40 

King  Blunt 44 

BOOK  III. 

The  Carolina  Pirate 7 

Daniel  Boone 15 

Tryon  and  the  Regulators ....  23 

British  Stamps  at  Wilmington .  26 

The  Edentou  Tea  Party 31 


PJLGB 

First  Sound  of  Liberty's  Bell . .  35 

Second  Sound  of  Liberty's  Bell  39 

The  Fair   Tory 41 

Defeat  of  the  Tories 45 

BOOK  IV. 

The  Noble  Four  Hundred 9 

Cornwallis  in  a  Hornets'  Nest.  13 

The  Heroes  of  Mclntyre's 17 

Rough  Riders  of  the  Smokies . .  22 
General  Greene  Without  a 

Penny 26 

The  Fall  of  a  Patriot 31 

Adventures  of  An  American 

Spy 35 

Death  of  the  Bugler  Boy 39 

How  Colonel  Pyle  Saved 

Tarleton 44 

BOOK  V. 

Minute  Men  of  the  Hills 9 

Cornwallis  on  the  Run 13 

A  Strange  Night  Attack 17 

A  Brave  Woman's  Wit. .......  21 

The  Tory  Bandit 25 

Hunter's  Stone  Steps 29 

The  State  of  Franklin 33 

Story  of  Bath    37 

An  Old-Time  School . .  41 


"He  said  good-bye  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dare,  took  little  Virginia  up  in 
his  arms  and  kissed  her  several  times."   Page  30,  Book  1. 


North  Carolina  History  Stories 


TWO  INDIAN  BOYS 

Three  hundred  years  ago  there  were  no  white  people 
in  North  Carolina.  Only  Indians  lived  here.  They 
owned  all  the  land,  and  lived  in  their  wigwams  near 
their  hunting  grounds.  They  were  very  happy  in  their 
homes  in  the  forest.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  great 
cities  and  fine  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  big  ocean. 

Little  Indian  boys  and  girls  played  games  in  the 
fields  and  woods,  and  plucked  the  wild  flowers  with  joy 
and  gladness,  just  as  boys  and  girls  do  now.  They 
heard  the  birds  sing  and  saw  the  squirrels  and  the  deer 
How  happy  they  were  as  they  chased  the  butterflies  or 
watched  the  birds  build  their  nests  in  the  trees! 

The  names  of  two  of  these  Indian  boys,  who  lived  on 

an  island  called  Croatan,  are  well  known.    They  were 

Manteq  and  Manchese.  They  were  about  the  same  age, 

and  were  brighter  and  more  active  than  the  other  boys 

cro  tan'  man'te  o  man  che'ze 

(9) 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

of  the  island.  But  they  were  as  different  from  each 
other  as  possible.  Manteo  was  kind  and  obedient;  but 
Manchese  was  cruel  and  stubborn. 

This  difference,  however,  did  not  keep  them  from 
being  great  friends.  They  were  often  together,  and 
fished  and  hunted  side  by  side.  They  knew  nothing  of 
other  lands,  but  sometimes  wondered  where  the  big  sea 
ended  and  what  was  on  the  other  side  of  it.  So  these 
boys  grew  up  to  be  men  in  this  wild  country,  often 
wishjng  that  they  could  see  beyond  the  great  sea. 
They  did  not  know  how  soon  or  in  what  way  they  would 
get  their  wish. 

One  day,  when  Manteo  and  Manchese  were  about 
eighteen  years  old,  a  wonderful  thing  happened.  They 
were  going  in  a  canoe  to  one  of  their  fishing  places  to 
see  if  their  fish-traps  had  caught  anything.  Just  as 
they  turned  a  bend  in  the  shore  line  they  came  in  full 
view  of  a  large  ship  anchored  and  standing  perfectly 
still  in  the  smooth  water.  At  first  they  were  puzzled 
and  could  not  tell  what  the  strange  thing  was.  Man- 
chese and  another  boy  who  was  with  them  proposed  to 
turn  back;  but  Manteo  insisted  upon  going  nearer. 

"How  can  we  miss  this  chance,"  said  he,  "which  the 
Great  Spirit  has  given  us  to  find  out  what  this  strange 
thing  is?" 


TWO   INDIAN   BOXS  11 

When  they  came  nearer,  men  were  seen  moving 
about  on  the  great  boat.  They  saw  another  boat  just 
beyond  the  first  one.  Then  the  boys  guided,  the  canoe 
towards  the  land  and  Manteo  jumped  ashore,  saying 
that  he  was  going  nearer.  He  was  a  brave  boy  and 
wished  to  see  what  the  strange  sight  meant.  So  he 
walked  along  the  beach  to  a  place  nearest  the  ships, 
and  beckoned  to  those  on  board. 

These  ships  were  from  England,  a  great  country 
across  the  sea.  They  had  been  sent  out  by  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  a  rich  nobleman  who  lived  in  London,  to  see 
what  kind  of  a  country  this  new  world  was  that  Colum- 
bus and  Cabot  had  found,  and  what  kind  of  people  lived 
here.  The  captains  of  the  ships  were  Philip  Amidas 
and  Arthur  Barlowe. 

Seeing  some  one  on  the  shore  beckoning,  Captain 
Amidas  and  three  other  men  let  down  one  of  the  small 
boats  into  the  water  and  went  over  to  where  the  Indian 
was.  Manteo  made  a  long  speech  of  welcome  to  them 
in  his  own  language,  but  the  white  men  did  not  under- 
stand him.  He  stepped  into  their  boat  and  pointed  to 
the  big  ships,  thus  showing  that  he  wanted  to  go  to 
them.  The  white  men  carried  him  to  the  ships  and 
took  him  on  board. 

raw'li  am'i  das 


12  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

He  was  much  astonished  at  everything,  and  walked 
about  on  deck,  looking  at  the  curious  things  with  the 
eagerness  of  a  child.  Every  piece  of  dress  that  the 
sailors  wore  was  new  to  him.  He  walked  up  to  a  sailor, 
took  his  hat  and  put  it  on  his  own  head.  After  wear- 
ing it  for  a  few  moments,  he  returned  the  hat  to  the 
owner,  but  showed  by  signs  that  he  wanted  one. 

Captain  Amidas  presented  him  with  a  hat,  which  he 
was  overjoyed  to  receive,  and  gave  him  several  pieces 
of  jewelry  that  pleased  him  very  much.  When  he  had 
thanked  Captain  Amidas  for  what  had  been  given  him 
he  went  back  to  his  own  boat  and  companions. 

Soon  he  and  the  other  two  boys  rowed  out  into  the 
sound  and  commenced  fishing.  In  a  little  while  they 
had  caught  as  many  fish  as  their  boat  could  hold.  Com- 
ing back  to  the  shore,  Manteo  divided  the  fish  into  two 
piles,  and  made  signs  to  show  that  one  pile  was  for  one 
ship  and  the  other  for  the  other  ship.  Having  thus  ex- 
pressed his  thanks  in  a  practical  manner,  he  and  his 
companions  went  home. 

Thus  it  was  that  these  Indian  boys  began  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  world  as  it  was  across  the  big  sea. 


VISIT  TO  A  STKANOE  LAND 


VISIT  TO  A  STRANGE  LAND 

As  Manteo  and  Manchese  went  home  that  day  they 
had  many  things  about  which  to  talk.  They  had  seen 
strange  things  and  had  heard  strange  sounds.  They 
talked  about  the  large  ships  of  the  white  men,  their 
guns  and  their  swords.  Nothing  had  ever  stirred  them 
like  the  events  of  that  day. 

After  talking  of  all  the  things  that  they  had  seen 
and  heard,  they  became  silent  as  if  some  deeper 
thought  had  entered  their  minds. 

"I  wonder  where  they  came  from  and  for  what,"  said 
Manteo. 

"From  over  the  sea  toward  the  rising  sun,"  replied 
Manchese.  "The  Great  Spirit  has  sent  them  to  tell  us 
about  the  world  across  the  big  water." 

"The  world  must  be  a  fine  place  if  it  has  such  people 
as  those  in  it.  I  should  like  to  see  their  wigwams," 
said  Manteo. 

"  So  should  I,"  answered  Manchese.  "  They  must  be 
fine  ones." 

Thus  these  Indian  boys  talked  in  their  own  lan- 
guage until  they  reached  home.  They  told  their  home 
folks  what  wonderful  things  they  had  seen.  All  the 


14  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

old  men  and  young  men  and  women  listened  eagerly. 
Some  of  the  braves  were  uneasy  when  they  had  heard 
the  boys'  story.  They  said  that  .the  palefaces  had  come 
for  no  good.  By  far  the  larger  number,  however,  were 
glad  that  the  strangers  had  come,  and  were  willing  to 
give  them  a  cordial  welcome. 

Next  day  a  large  number  of  the  Indians  went  to  see 
the  ships  and  to  give  a  welcome  to  the  Englishmen. 
Manteo  and  Manchese  went  aboard  the  ships  and  were 
greeted  kindly  by  the  sailors.  For  several  days  there- 
after they  went  regularly  and  became  intimate  with 
the  white  men.  Frequently  they  went  with  exploring 
parties  that  were  sent  out,  and  were  very  useful  in 
showing  the  way  to  certain  places  and  in  keeping  the 
other  Indians  friendly. 

One  day  Manteo  asked  Manchese  if  he  did  not  wish 
to  go  across  the  big  sea  with  the  white  men. 

"These  men  are  our  friends,"  said  Manteo,  "and  will 
show  us  the  wonderful  things  they  have  at  home." 

"There  is  danger  in  it,"  answered  Manchese;  "for  they 
may  never  come  back  here,  and  we  could  never  find  our 
way  across  the  great  sea  in  our  canoe." 

"The  Great  Spirit  will  take  care  of  us,"  said  Manteo. 
"He  will  never  allow  any  harm  to  come  to  us  if  we  trust 


VISIT  TO  A  STRANGE  LAND  15 

him.  Let  us  go  and  see  what  great  things  these 
strangers  can  show  us." 

Manchese  consented.  They  agreed  to  ask  the  white 
men  next  day  to  let  them  go  back  with  them  across  the 
sea.  Captain  Amidas  and  the  others  were  glad  for 
them  to  go.  So  they  got  ready,  and  when  the  ships 
were  about  to  sail  Manteo  and  Manchese  were  there. 
They  bade  farewell  to  father  and  mother,  sisters  and 
brothers,  relatives  and  friends,  and  went  on  board. 

The  ships  sailed  away  and  were  soon  out  of  sight  of 
land.  It  was  a  pleasant  voyage,  and  in  a  few  weeks 
land  was  sighted.  They  anchored  on  the  west  coast  of 
England.  The  Indian  boys  had  enjoyed  the  trip  across 
the  ocean  very  much;  and  now,  as  the  ship  approached 
land,  they  were  astonished  at  the  beautiful  sight  that 
greeted  them. 

There  before  them  was  a  great  city.  They  had  ex- 
pected to  see  wigwams  like  their  own,  except  larger; 
but  instead  there  were  great  stone  castles  reaching 
up  into  the  clouds.  They  had  never  imagined  anything 
like  it.  Their  eyes  were  dazzled.  Indeed,  they  were 
really  alarmed  at  the  greatness  of  everything. 

They  went  ashore  and  their  wonder  increased.  They 
stared  at  the  many  strange  things  on  every  street.  This 
was  indeed  a  strange  land  to  them.  They  could  not 
conceal  their  wonder. 


16  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Soon  they  were  taken  to  London,  and  still  their  won- 
der grew.  They  went  to  the  palace  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  into  the  presence  of  the  queen  herself.  She  re- 
ceived them  kindly  and  spoke  some  words  to  them,  but 
they  could  not  understand  her.  They  saw  the  splendors 
of  the  palace,  the  fine  gentlemen,  and  the  beautiful 
ladies  with  their  gay  dresses.  It  was  another  great 
day  in  the  lives  of  these  boys. 

Manteo  was  delighted,  but  Manchese  was  quiet. 
Manteo  was  full  of  joy,  but  Manchese  appeared  to  be 
very  much  displeased. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  owned  the  ships  that 
brought  them  over,  soon  began  to  make  ready  to  send 
some  people  over  to  the  new  world  to  settle.  While  this 
was  being  done,  the  two  Indian  boys  lived  in  London. 
They  saw  many  things  that  caused  them  always  to 
remember  their  stay  in  that  city. 

At  last  everything  was  ready  for  the  ships  to  return 
to  North  Carolina.  Manteo  and  Manchese  came  on 
board  with  the  others  who  were  going  to  settle  in  the 
new  country.  They  were  glad  that  they  were  on  their 
way  back  home. 

In  a  few  weeks  they  came  in  sight  of  the  shores  of 
their  native  land.  The  visit  of  these  boys  to  a  strange 
land  was  over. 


THE  LOSS  OF  A  SILVER  CUP  17! 

THE  LOSS  OF  A  SILVER  CUP 

It  was  with  pleasure  that  Manteo  and  Manchese  once 
more  saw  the  land  of  their  birth.  They  had  been  ab- 
sent about  eight  months,  and  had  seen  much  of  the 
world.  They  were  overjoyed  to  see  the  smooth  waters 
of  the  sound  and,  in  the  distance,  the  forests  where 
they  had  so  often  roamed. 

As  soon  as  the  ships  reached  Wocoken  they  cast  an- 
chor. There  were  more  than  a  hundred  men  on  board. 
Ralph  Lane  was  governor  of  the  new  colony  and  Sir 
Richard  Grenville  was  commander  of  the  ships.  Man- 
teo was  sent  to  Roanoke  Island  to  inform  the  king  of 
their  arrival.  While  waiting  for  him  to  return,  Gren- 
ville and  Lane,  with  about  a  dozen  others,  crossed 
over  the  sound  and  explored  a  large  part  of  the  neigh- 
boring country.  They  were  received  in  a  kindly  man- 
ner by  the  Indians.  Several  villages  were  visited. 
Everywhere  the  best  of  feeling  existed  between  the 
Indians  and  the  English. 

One  night  they  stopped  at  Aquascogoc,  a  small  vil- 
lage with  about  twenty  wigwams.  The  Indians  were 
glad  to  see  the  strangers,  and  welcomed  them  to  their 
homes.  The  night  passed  very  pleasantly. 

wo  ko'ken  a  kwas'ko  goc 


18  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Next  morning  Grenville  and  his  party  left  to  go  to 
another  place.  They  bade  farewell  to  the  savages,  who 
crowded  around  to  see  them  off.  The  white  men 
thanked  the  Indians  by  signs  for  what  they  had  done, 
and  gave  them  presents. 

On  the  next  day,  after  having  traveled  a  long  dis- 
tance from  the  village,  one  of  the  men  found  that  a 
silver  cup  had  been  stolen  from  him.  He  told  Sir 
Kichard  Grenville,  and  said  that  it  had  been  stolen  by 
an  Indian  in  the  village  where  they  had  spent  the  night. 
At  once  they  returned  to  the  village.  Grenville  sent 
word  to  the  chief  that  the  cup  had  been  stolen  and  the 
thief  must  be  caught.  The  chief  sent  word  back  that 
he  would  try  to  find  the  thief  and  the  cup.  Soon  he 
came  out  to  the  white  men  with  an  Indian  boy,  who 
confessed  that  he  had  taken  the  cup,  and  promised  to 
go  back  to  the  village  and  bring  it. 

The  white  men  waited  for  some  time,  but  the  boy  did 
not  return.  Nobody  knows  why  he  did  not.  Some  one 
may  have  stolen  the  cup  from  him,  or  he  may  not  have 
wanted  to  give  up  what  pleased  him  so  much.  The 
white  men  became  restless.  Soon  they  lost  their  tem- 
pers and  began  to  shout  and  curse.  The  Indians  be- 
came frightened  and  began  to  run.  Grenville  and  his 
men  fired  their  guns  at  the  fleeing  savages.  Then  they 


THE  LOSS  OF  A  SILVER  CUP  19 

charged  into  the  village  and  began  to  destroy  every- 
thing they  could  find.  As  they  went  through  the  vil- 
lage they  searched  for  the  cup,  but  could  not  find  it, 
and  this  made  them  still  more  angry. 

They  set  fire  to  the  village  and  burned  every  wig- 
wam to  the  ground.  They  searched  the  country  around 
to  find  the  boy  who  had  stolen  the  cup,  but  he  was  no- 
where to  be  seen.  They  then  set  fire  to  the  fields  of 
grain  and  destroyed  everything  in  sight. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  bad  feeling  between  the 
Indians  and  the  white  men.  It  was  wrong  for  the 
Indian  to  steal  the  cup,  but  there  was  no  reason  for  the 
white  men  to  act  as  they  did.  The  Indians  never  for- 
gave them  for  it.  Manchese,  who  had  never  had  any 
fondness  for  the  English,  left  them  and  began  to  plot 
their  destruction. 

After  having  destroyed  the  Indian  village  and  the 
fields  of  grain,  Grenville  and  his  party  returned  to  their 
ships. 

Soon  Manteo  came  back  bringing  an  invitation  from 
Wirgina,  the  king  of  Roanoke  Island,  to  the  white  men, 
bidding  them  come  there  to  make  their  settlement. 
This  invitation  was  accepted,  and  the  whole  company 
set  sail  for  that  place. 


20  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


LANE'S  SEARCH  FOR  GOLD 

Governor  Lane  and  the  colonists  received  a  cordial 
welcome  when  they  reached  Roanoke  Island.  King 
Wirgina  sent  kindly  messages  and  gave  them  lands 
upon  which  to  build  their  homes.  Other  Indians  helped 
them  unload  the  ships  and  erect  their  houses. 

Soon  they  had  a  nice  little  village  of  huts.  Then 
they  took  from  the  ships  all  the  household  furniture 
they  had  brought  over.  Lane  and  his  men  worked  hard, 
and  soon  had  comfortable  homes.  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
ville  then  sailed  away  to  England,  leaving  the  colony  to 
live  or  die  in  a  strange  land. 

At  first  the  Indians  came  to  see  them  every  day,  and 
were  very  friendly.  Later  they  did  not  come  so  often. 
They  began  to  show  some  unfriendliness.  They  had 
heard  how  Governor  Lane  and  some  of  his  men  had 
burned  the  Indian  town  because  they  could  not  find 
the  silver  cup.  But  Manteo  was  a  strong  friend,  and 
remained  so. 

Governor  Lane  spent  much  time  in  hunting  for  gold. 
He  was  not  satisfied  with  planting  seeds  and  building 
houses.  He  thought  there  must  be  gold  mines  in  this 
wonderful  land.  So  he  traveled  all  over  the  island. 


LANE'S  SEARCH  FOB  GOLD  21 

went  to  the  mainland,  and  searched  the"  country  for 
miles  inland.  Then  he  sailed  up  some  of  the  rivers,  but 
nowhere  could  he  find  gold. 

While  Governor  Lane  was  doing  this,  the  Indians 
were  becoming  more  and  more  unfriendly.  Manchese 
was  busy  sowing  among  them  the  seeds  of  hatred  and 
jealousy.  He  got  the  ear  of  the  king  and  began  to  plot 
the  destruction  of  the  white  men. 

"Just  see  what  the  palefaces  are  doing,"  said  he. 
"They  are  taking  our  lands  from  us  and  we  will  have 
to  go  elsewhere  for  our  hunting  grounds.  Others  will 
come  from  across  the  big  water  and  drive  us  away. 
There  are  thousands  in  their  big  wigwams  toward  the 
rising  sun,  ready  to  come  and  destroy  us." 

"That  is  true,"  replied  the  king,  "for  they  destroyed 
the  homes  and  crops  of  our  neighbors  at  Aquascogoc. 
As  for  me  I  am  ready  to  slay  them  now.  It  is  time  for 
us  to  strike  before  other  palefaces  come." 

They  began  to  lay  plans  for  the  destruction  of  the 
colony.  They  knew  that  Governor  Lane  was  searching 
for  gold;  so  they  thought  that  the  white  men  could  be 
destroyed  while  hunting  for  the  precious  metal.  Along 
the  banks  of  the  Roanoke  river,  which  the  Indians 
called  Morotoc,  lived  a  very  fierce  tribe  of  savages. 

mo'ro  toe 


22  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

The  plan  of  Wirgina  and  Manchese  was  to  tell  Lane 
that  there  were  gold  mines  up  that  river,  and  then  send 
word  to  these  savages  that  the  white  men  were  coming 
to  make  war  on  them.  Thus  they  were  sure  that  Lane 
and  his  followers  would  perish. 

One  Indian,  according  to  their  plan,  went  to  the 
governor  and  offered  to  tell  him  where  he  could  find  a 
gold  mine.  Lane  was  caught  with  the  first  bait,  and 
eagerly  asked  where  it  was. 

"Far  up  the  great  river  Morotoc,"  said  the  Indian, 
"is  a  land  rich  in  gold  'and  precious  stones.  The  great 
river  rises  in  a  lake  which  is  so  near  the  ocean  that  the 
waves  sometimes  beat  over  into  it.  The  people  of  that 
land  are  rich  and  have  gold  chains  and  bracelets." 

Governor  Lane  was  eager  to  find  out  the  way  and  the 
distance.  The  Indian  answered  his  questions,  and  went 
back  to  Wirgina,  who  sent  him  to  do  the  other  part  of 
his  work,  which  was  to  tell  the  Indians  on  the  river 
that  Lane  was  coming. 

Soon  the  governor  and  his  men  set  out  in  search  of 
this  gold  mine  on  the  Roanoke  river.  They  carried  pro- 
visions to  last  them  a  long  time.  Manteo  was  in  the 
company.  For  some  days  they  went  up  the  river. 
They  looked  all  along  the  banks  to  see  if  they  could  find 
any  signs  of  gold,  or  see  any  Indians  wearing  gold  or- 


LANE'S  SEARCH  FOR  GOLD  23 

naments;  but  they  saw  none,  and  continued  their  jour- 
ney. When  they  had  gone  nearly  a  hundred  miles  they 
saw  some  Indians.  One  evening,  just  before  sunset, 
they  heard  a  peculiar  whistling  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 
Manteo  said  that  it  was  the  signal,  of  Indians  preparing 
to  make  an  attack.  Soon  the  whistling  ceased  and  the 
Indians  began  to  sing  a  song. 

Manteo  said  that  was  a  signal  of  attack,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  a  shower  of  arrows  fell  upon  the  boat.  No 
one  was  hurt.  Lane  and  his  men  went  ashore  as  soon 
as  possible.  They  charged  up  the  hill  and  put  the 
Indians  to  flight.  Then  they  encamped  for  the  night, 
thinking  that  they  would  follow  the  Indians  next  day. 

The  next  morning  Lane  decided  to  go  back  to  the 
colony.  Provisions  had  given  out  and  there  was  no 
chance  to  get  any  in  that  hostile  country.  So  they 
turned  their  boats  down  the  river  and  traveled  as  fast 
as  they  could.  They  became  very  hungry  on  the  way, 
as  they  had  not  a  morsel  of  food.  One  day  they  ate  a 
boiled  dog  and  sassafras  leaves.  After  much  suffering 
they  reached  Roanoke  Island.  Wirgina  and  Manchese 
were  greatly  disappointed  by  their  return.  This  was 
Lane's  last  search  for  gold.  Soon  afterward,  in  a  fight 
with  the  Indians,  four  of  his  men  were  killed.  Wirgina 


24  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

and  many  of  his  men  were  slain  also.    It  is  not  known 
whether  Manchese  was  killed  or  not. 

In  a  short  while  Lane  went  back  to  England  with  all 
his  men.    Thus  the  first  settlement  was  a  failure. 


THE  LORD  OF  BOANOKE  25 


THE  LORD  OF  ROANOKE 

Manteo  went  with  Governor  Lane  to  England.  This 
was  his  second  trip  across  the  ocean.  He  was  as  much 
delighted  this  time  as  on  his  first  trip.  He  had  become 
a  strong  friend  of  the  white  men.  He  had  learned  to 
talk  English  a  little,  and  could  make  himself  under- 
stood. The  white  men  were  kind  to  him,  and  he  loved 
them  very  much. 

While  in  England  this  time  Manteo  became  quite 
well  known  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  He  talked  to  that 
great  man  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child,  and  told  him 
about  his  people  and  about  the  wild  animals  and  the 
flowers  in  his  far-off  home.  In  this  way  Sir  Walter  be- 
came more  and  more  interested  in  Manteo.  A  great 
friendship  was  formed  between  the  two,  and  they  were 
often  together. 

Manteo  became  very  much  interested  in  the  titles  of 
honor  in  England.  He  asked  many  questions  about 
them.  One  day  he  asked  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  how  one 
mfght  become  a  lord.  Sir  Walter  looked  at  the  Indian 
for  a  moment  with  much  concern,  and  said: 

"My  boy,  do  you  wish  to  become  great  like  these  great 
men  whom  vou  see  here?" 


26  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

"Yes,"  said  Manteo,  "for  I  want  to  tell  my  people  to- 
ward the  setting  sun  how  to  be  great,  and  how  to  build 
fine  wigwams  like  yours.  The  Great  Spirit  has  sent  me 
over  here  to  learn  from  you  how  to  be  great  and  good." 

Sir  Walter  was  much  pleased  with  the  earnestness 
of  the  young  Indian,  and  promised  to  show  him  how  to 
be  great  and  good. 

"You  must  be  obedient  and  watchful,"  said  he,  "and 
then  perhaps  you  will  learn  enough  to  become  a  lord." 

From  that  time  Manteo  was  more  diligent  than  be- 
fore. He  was  bright,  and  learned  very  rapidly.  He 
talked  much  with  learned  men,  and  soon  became  known 
all  over  London  for  his  brightness  and  his  eagerness  to 
learn. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  newly-appointed  gover- 
nor, John  White,  to  set  out  from  England  with  his 
colony,  Manteo  had  gained  a  great  deal  of  English 
learning  and  culture.  He  was  able  to  talk  intelligently 
about  many  things  that  he  had  never  heard  of  before 
coming  to  England. 

A  few  days  before  the  ships  were  to  sail  for  America, 
Sir  Walter  called  Manteo  to  him  and  asked  if  he  wanted 
to  return  to  his  own  country. 

"Yes/'  said  the  Indian,  "for  my  people  will  be  ex- 
pecting me  when  they  see  the  big  ships." 


THE  LORD   OF   ROANOKE  27 

Raleigh  then  told  him  that  he  should  be  called  the 
Lord  of  Roanoke.  Manteo  was  very  glad  of  this,  and 
thanked  Sir  Walter  many  times.  He  was  delighted  at 
his  title,  and  called  himself  Lord  Manteo  to  hear  how 
it  sounded. 

After  a  while  the  ships  sailed  for  America,  and  the 
young  Lord  of  Roanoke  bade  a  last  farewell  to  Eng- 
land. He  never  went  back  to  the  beautiful  country 
where  he  had  seen  and  learned  so  much.  But  he  al- 
ways remembered  the  many  things  that  had  interested 
him  there. 

Soon  the  ships  landed  at  Roanoke  Island  and  the 
settlement  began.  The  houses  already  there  were  re- 
paired and  new  ones  built.  All  worked  faithfully,  and 
soon  had  comfortable  homes. 

Governor  White  had  been  told  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
to  appoint  Manteo  Lord  of  Roanoke  as  soon  as  the  set- 
tlement was  made.  Manteo  first  joined  the  church 
and  was  baptized.  Then  Governor  White  struck  him 
on  the  shoulder  with  the  flat  of  his  sword  and  told  him 
that  he  was  now  a  knight  of  the  queen  and  Lord  of  Roa- 
noke. The  Lord  of  Roanoke  wore  his  honors  well.  He 
was  very  proud  of  his  rank,  and  became  a  really  fine 
gentleman.  He  was  very  useful  to  the  settlers  in  keep- 
ing the  Indians  friendly  and  acting  as>  interpreter. 


28  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES   • 

When  the  colonists  moved  from  Roanoke  to  Croatan, 
Manteo  vent  with  them.  He  was  also  there  when  the 
Indians  from  Virginia  made  an  attack  upon  the  colony. 
He  fought  bravely  in  defense  of  the  settlers,  and  when 
all  seemed  to  be  lost,  he  escaped  with  a  few  of  them  to 
Hatteras,  where  his  people  lived. 

This  is  all  that  is  known  of  the  Lord  of  Roanoke.  No 
one  knows  what  he  did  after  this,  or  how  long  he  lived 
after  reaching  Hatteras.  He  fades  from  history  at  this 
point.  We  can  believe,  however,  that  he  was  always 
true  to  the  English  settlers  that  escaped  the  slaughter. 

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STORY   OF    VIRGINIA    DARE  29 


STORY  OF  VIRGINIA  DARE 

In  the  spring  of  1587  colonists  came  from  England 
to  settle  on  Roanoke  Island.  On  this  trip  there  were 
women  and  children  with  the  company.  The  year 
before  none  but  men  had  come,  and  they  soon  became 
homesick  and  returned  to  England. 

John  White  was  governor,  and  he  had  over  a  hun- 
dred people  with  him.  Manteo  was  with  him,  too.  He 
had  gone  to  England  with  Governor  Lane  the  year 
before,  and  now  came  back  with  Governor  White. 

They  repaired  the  houses  that  Lane  had  built,  and 
put  up  others.  Then  the  women  and  children  went 
ashore.  Soon  the  old  houses  began  to  look  homelike, 
and  the  children  began  to  play  and  enjoy  themselves 
in  their  wild  homes.  But  they  were  afraid  of  the 
Indians,  and  every  time  one  would  come  to  the  village, 
the  children  would  run  and  hide. 

One  day  George  Howe  was  out  in  the  sound  all  alone 
catching  crabs.  Some  Indians  that  were  angry  with 
the  white  people  crept  up  and  killed  him.  This  murder 
scared  all  the  children  in  the  colony.  They  never  went 
very  far  from  their  homes  after  that.  They  were  afraid 
the  Indians  would  kill  them. 


30  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

On  the  eighteenth  of  August,  soon  after  all  the 
houses  were  repaired  and  the  people  began  to  feel  at 
home,  a  little  baby  girl  was  born  at  the  house  of 
Ananias  Dare.  Her  mother,  Mrs.  Eleanor  Dare,  was 
the  daughter  of  Governor  White. 

Governor  White  was  very  proud  of  his  little  grand- 
daughter. He  named  her  Virginia,  as  all  the  new 
country  was  then  called  Virginia  after  the  Virgin 
Queen  Elizabeth.  He  did  not  know  that  Virginia 
Dare,  the  first  white  child  born  in  this  new  country, 
would  become  one  of  the  most  famous  names  in  North 
Carolina  history. 

When  Virginia  was  nine  days  old,  Governor  White 
had  to  go  back  to  England  to  get  provisions  for  the 
colony.  He  did  not  wish  to  go,  and  tried  to  get  some- 
body to  go  in  his  place.  He  wished  to  stay  at  Roanoke 
Island  with  his  little  granddaughter.  But  as  no  one 
else  was  willing,  Governor  White  felt  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  go. 

He  said  good-bye  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dare,  took  little 
Virginia  up  in  his  arms,  and  kissed  her  several  times. 
Then  he  went  down  to  the  ship  that  was  waiting  for 
him,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 

That  was  the  last  time  Governor  White  ever  saw  his 
granddaughter  or  any  of  the  colonists.  He  went  to 


STORY   OF    VIRGINIA   DARE  31 

England  and  found  his  people  at  war  with  Spain.  On 
account  of  the  war,  he  could  not  get  supplies.  He  had 
to  wait  three  years.  When  the  war  closed,  he  got  the 
supplies  and  came  back  to  the  settlement;  !but  he 
could  not  find  the  colony,  nor  any  member  of  it. 

No  one  knows  exactly  what  became  of  little  Virginia 
and  her  mother  and  father,  or  of  any  of  the  colonists 
that  Governor  White  left.  Many  years  after  that  time 
the  Indians  said  that  Virginia  grew  up  and  became  a 
queen  among  the  Indians.  According  to  this  Indian 
story,  a  year  or  more  passed  by  and,  as  the  colonists 
heard  nothing  from  Governor  White,  they  began  to 
feel  uneasy.  Provisions  were  scarce,  and  they  were  in 
danger  of  starving.  They  did  not  know  what  to  do. 
They  waited  another  year,  living  on  crabs  and  fish, 
but  the  governor  did  not  return. 

"What  can  be  the  matter?"  asked  Mrs.  Dare;  but 
no  one  could  answer.  Every  one  thought  that  the 
governor  had  been  lost  at  sea.  Still  they  hoped  on, 
but  despair  began  to  settle  upon  all. 

At  last  they  decided  to  cross  over  to  the  mainland, 
which  was  called  Croatan,  and  build  other  homes.  The 
Indians  there  were  friendly,  and  had  invited  them  to 
come.  So  they  cut  the  word  Croatan  on  a  tree  and  left. 


32  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

There  they  lived  for  several  years  with  the  friendly 
Indians.  Little  Virginia  grew  up  to  be  a  very  beau- 
tiful girl.  The  Indians  loved  her,  and  called  her 
the  daughter  of  the  Great  Spirit.  Thus  it  was  that 
several  years  passed.  But  one  day  a  terrible  thing 
happened.  The  powerful  Powhatan,  an  Indian  king, 
who  lived  on  the  Powhatan  river,  now  called  James 
river,  in  Virginia,  made  war  upon  the  Croatan  Indians, 
captured  their  town,  and  put  all  the  people  to  death 
except  a  few  who  escaped.  All  the  white  people  were 
murdered  except  four  men,  two  boys,  and  a  little  girl. 
That  little  girl  was  Virginia  Dare. 

Manteo,  who  was  there,  escaped,  and  with  these 
seven  white  persons  went  to  Hatteras,  where  his 
kindred  dwelt.  There  Virginia  grew  to  womanhood. 
She  was  so  beautiful  and  wise  that  the  Indians 
regarded  her  as  some  being  that  the  Great  Spirit  had 
sent  to  them  to  guide  and  teach  them. 

So  they  made  her  the  queen  of  the  tribe,  and  for 
many  years  the  "  Fair  Goddess,"  as  they  called  her, 
ruled  wisely  and  well.  The  white  men,  who  had 
escaped  with  her,  married  Indian  girls.  Thus  the  two 
races  became  united. 

pow  ha  tan' 


STORY   OF  -VIRGINIA   DARE  33 

No  one  knows  whether  the  story  of  Virginia  Dare  is 
true  or  not.  It  is  a  pretty  one,  and  all  of  us  would  be 
glad  to  know  that  she  really  lived  among  the  Indians 
and  became  their  "  Fair  Goddess." 


34:  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


A  SAD  GRANDFATHER 

Governor  White  was  very  sad  the  day  he  left 
Roanoke  Island  to  go  to  England.  He  was  still  sadder 
when  he  reached  England  and  found  that  he  could  not 
return  to  Roanoke  Island  in  a  long  time.  He  grieved 
much  during  the  three  years  that  he  had  to  wait. 

He  thought  of  his  daughter  and  little  granddaughter 
far  over  the  sea,  waiting  for  him  to  come  back.  How 
his  heart  ached  when  he  thought  of  them  in  danger  in 
a  strange  land!  Gladly  he  would  have  risked  his  life 
in  their  behalf.  He  would  have  started  back  imme- 
diately if  he  could  have  gotten  away. 

As  it  was,  no  ship  could  leave  England;  for  a  great 
Spanish  fleet,  called  the  Invincible  Armada,  was 
coming  to  conquer  the  country.  All  the  ships  in  the 
kingdom  were  pressed  into  service,  and  none  was 
allowed  to  go  away.  Governor  White  had  to  join  in 
the  defense  of  his  country.  Still  he  was  thinking  all 
the  time  of  little  Virginia  Dare  and  her  mother  in 
far-off  North  Carolina. 

At  last  the  Spaniards  came  with  their  great  army 
and  fleet  to  attack  England.  They  struck  hard,  but 

ar  ma'da 


A  SAD  GRANDFATHER  35 

the  English  struck  harder.  They  were  beaten  and 
nearly  all  of  their  ships  were  destroyed.  The  English 
rejoiced  over  the  great  victory. 

Then  Governor  White  was  relieved  from  service.  He 
set  out  at  once  for  North  Carolina.  He  was  glad  that 
he  was  at  last  on  his  way  back  to  see  the  little  girl  and 
her  mother.  His  heart  rejoiced,  and  yet  he  was  afraid 
that  something  had  happened  to  them  in  his  absence. 
How  glad  he  would  be  to  see  them  all  alive  and  well! 

Soon  they  came  in  sight  of  the  shores  of  Roanoke 
Island.  Governor  White  was  looking  to  see  if  he  could 
get  a  glimpse  of  some  one  on  the  shore.  He  saw  a 
smoke  rising  in  the  direction  of  the  settlement.  He 
felt  sure  that  it  was  coming  from  some  of  the  houses 
of  the  settlers.  Soon  he  would  come  to  the  shore  and 
find  them  all  there  to  receive  him;  and  how  happy 
they  would  all  be  in  the  reunion! 

Presently  the  ship  came  to  the  shore,  but  there  was 
nobody  in  sight.  They  landed,  but  not  a  human  being 
appeared.  Governor  White's  heart  began  to  fail  him. 
He  walked  up  the  shore  and  called,  but  only  the  echo 
of  his  own  voice  replied.  Then  he  went  up  the  hill  to 
the  houses.  The  buildings  looked  deserted.  As  he 
came  nearer,  two  deer  came  out  from  the  bushes  near 
the  houses  and  ran  away. 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Then  he  went  up  to  the  first  house.  Nobody  was 
there.  Weeds  had  grown  up  around  it.  The.  footpath 
was  hidden  by  grass.  He  went  on  to  another,  and 
then  another,  and  found  them  all  deserted.  There 
was  no  sign  of  any  human  being.  Nobody  had  been 
there  for  a  long  time.  Everything  was  bare  and 
gloomy.  His  heart  sank  within  him.  Tears  came  to 
his  eyes,  and  he  groaned  aloud. 

What  had  become  of  them?  He  tried  to  answer  the 
question.  He  looked  around  to  see  if  there  was  any- 
thing that  would  help  him  to  find  out  their  where- 
abouts. There  was  no  sign  of  any  struggle.  There 
had  been  no  battle  with  the  Indians.  There  was  no 
evidence  of  hasty  leaving  except  a  box  of  old  books 
and  pamphlets  that  he  found  broken  open.  The  books 
were  scattered  about,  but  that  indicated  no  conflict. 

Presently  he  found  something  that  gave  him  joy  in 
those  moments  of  sadness.  On  a  tree  was  the  word 
Croatan  cut  in  large  letters.  That,  then,  was  the  place 
to  which  they  had  gone.  His  heart  leaped  for  joy,  for 
he  felt  sure  he  would  find  the  lost  colonists. 

Quickly  he  ran  back  to  the  ship  and  told  the  captain 
what  he  had  found.  He  urged  an  immediate  departure 
for  the  island  of  Croatan.  But  the  captain  was  a  man 
who  cared  nothing  for  Governor  White  or  his  people. 


A  SAD  GRANDFATHER  37 

He  refused  to  go  to  Croatan.  He  said  that  the  ship  was 
without  provisions,  and  that  he  had  to  go  to  the  West 
Indies  to  get  a  supply.  Governor  White  begged  and 
threatened,  but  the  man  was  deaf  to  all  the  feelings  of 
a  father  and  grandfather. 

In  the  midst  of  the  dispute  a  violent  storm  came 
up.  The  ship  was  blown  out  to  sea,  and  for  three  days 
was  driven  before  the  hurricane.  WThen  the  storm  was 
over,  it  was  found  that  the  ship  was  damaged.  They 
set  out  for  England  at  once  to  repair  the  damage.  After 
a  few  weeks  they  reached  England  in  safety. 

Governor  White  tried  to  get  another  ship  to  come 
over  in  search  of  the  lost  ones.  He  tried  in  vain.  He 
had  no  .money  himself,  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who 
had  been  furnishing  the  money,  was  now  bankrupt. 
Eloquently  he  pleaded  for  help.  With  an  aching  heart 
he  told  of  the  hundred  settlers  at  Croatan  waiting  for 
help  from  England.  But  he  found  no  one  to  aid  him. 
Heartbroken  he  gave  up  the  struggle.  He  went  to  his 
home  and  lived  in  sadness  until  death  relieved  him  of 
his  misery. 

This  is  one  of  the  saddest  stories  connected  with  the 
settlement  of  this  country — a  story  that  appeals  to  all 
hearts.  The  settlers  were  living  in  distress  among  the 
Indians,  waiting  for  relief  that  never  came. 

448026 


38  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENT 

After  Governor  White  returned  to  England,  it  was 
more  than  sixty  years  before  any  more  white  people 
came  to  North  Carolina  to  live.  During  that  time  sev- 
eral attempts  were  made  to  find  Virginia  Dare  and  the 
other  colonists,  but  no  one  ever  found  them. 

Virginia  and  several  other  colonies  had  been  settled 
during  these  sixty  years.  But  North  Carolina  was  a 
wilderness.  No  white  people  were  known  to  be  living 
there.  Indians  held  possession  of  the  land.  They 
hunted  and  fished  without  knowing  that  the  English- 
men were  making  settlements  elsewhere. 

Soon  daring  men  from  Virginia  came  over  into  North 
Carolina  to  see  what  the  country  was  like.  They  went 
down  the  Chowan  river. to  Albemarle  Sound  and  exam- 
ined the  country  as  they  went.  They  found  it  to  be  rich 
and  well  watered.  They  then  went  back  to  Virginia 
and  told  the  people  there  what  they  had  seen.  Many 
of  the  Virginia  settlers  wished  to  move  at  once  over 
into  North  Carolina.  They  wished  to  get  away  from 
the  tyranny  of  Governor  Berkeley  and  to  seek  richer 
lands. 

cho  wan' 


THE   FIRST   SETTLEMENT  39 

Roger  Green,  a  clergyman  in  Nansemond  county,  ap- 
plied to  the  king  for  permission  to  move  south  with  his 
flock  to  the  Chowan  river.  He  secured  a  grant  of  ten 
thousand  acres  of  land  on  the  Roanoke  and  Chowan 
rivers,  and  resolved  to  move  there.  For  several  weeks 
preparations  were  made  to  start  south.  Wagons  and 
horses  were  needed.  Provisions  had^to  be  collected. 
Clothing  had  to  be  made  up  to  last  until  they  became 
settled  in  their  new  home.  A  great  many  other  things 
had  to  be  looked  after.  After  a  while  they  were  ready 
to  start.  Neighbors  who  were  not  going  came  to  say 
good-bye.  The  wagons  were  loaded  and  the  caravan 
started  on  its  journey.  Many  miles  through  the  forests 
lay  before  them. 

The  company  traveled  very  slowly,  for  there  was  no 
road  and  one  had  to  be  made  as  they  proceeded.  After 
weeks  of  hardships  and  hard  work  they  came  into  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Chowan.  They  halted  and  looked 
about  far  a  suitable  place  to  begin  the  settlement.  Af- 
ter some  delay,  they  selected  a  spot,  and  began  the 
erection  of  houses  to  shelter  them  from  the  weather. 

Soon  after  the  settlers  began  to  build  th.eir  houses, 
several  Indians  came  and  lopked  on.  They  did  not 
seem  at  all  "displeased,  and  said  nothing  to  alarm  the 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

settlers.  They  watched  the  men  use  the  saw  and  the 
axe  and  the  hammer. 

These  Indians  belonged  to  the  Yeopin  tribe  that 
lived  higher  up  the  Chowan.  They  went  home  and  told 
what  they  had  seen.  Several  days  after,  a  considerable 
band  of  these  Indians  came.  The  settlers  were  some- 
what alarmed  when  they  saw  the  Indians  coming,  but 
the  redskins  soon  showed  that  they  were  not  after  blood 
or  scalps.  They  halted  some  distance  off  and  motioned 
for  the  white  men  to  come  nearer.  Then  by  signs  it  was 
told  the  white  men  that  they  had  no  right  to  settle  on 
the  land,  unless  they  bought  it  from  the  Indians.  Soon 
a  bargain  was  made.  The  Indians  received  in  payment 
some  cheap  jewelry,  hats,  red  handkerchiefs  and  simi- 
lar articles  that  pleased  them  very  much. 

By  hard  work  the  settlers  soon  had  houses  for  them- 
selves. Then  they  began  to  clear  the  land.  They 
cleared  large  tracts,  and  year  after  year  raised  large 
crops  of  corn  and  tobacco. 

This  settlement  was  made  on  the  Chowan  river,  some 
miles  north  of  Edenton,  in  1653.  It  opened  the  way  for 
other  settlers,  and  in  ten  years  there  was  quite  a  large 
number  of  people  living  in  North  Carolina. 

In  1663  Charles  II.,  King  of  England,  gave  to  eight 
of  his  lords  all  the  country  between  Florida  and  the 


THE    FIKST    SETTLEMENT  41 

southern  limit  of  Virginia  and  running  westward  to 
the  "South  Seas."  This  region  had  been  called  Caro- 
lina in  honor  of  King  Charles  I.,  and  kept  this  name 
when  the  first  colony  was  formed  in  1663. 


42  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


A  CATTLE  RANCH  ON  THE  CAPE  FEAR 

In  1660  a  colony  of  men  came  from  New  England 
and  made  homes  for  themselves  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Cape  Fear  river.  They  wanted  to  raise  cattle  to  sell  to 
people  in  London  and  other  large  cities,  and  thought 
that  the  land  in  that  part  of  the  country  would  make 
good  pastures. 

That  was  long  before  Wilmington  was  settled.  It 
was  a  few  years  before  the  colony  on  Albemarle  Sound 
became  established,  and  seven  years  after  Green  and 
his  flock  settled  on  the  Chowan. 

At  that  time  the  land  in  North  Carolina  did  not  be- 
long to  any  one  especially;  or  rather,  it  belonged  to  so 
many  different  ones  that  nobody  knew  who  really  had 
the  best  right  to  it.  The  king  of  England  claimed  it. 
So  did  certain  Englishmen  to  whom  the  king  had  given 
it  some  years  before.  The  Indians  claimed  it  as  their 
own;  and  it  does  seem  that  their  right  was  the  best 
one,  for  they  were  living  on  it. 

These  men  from  New  England  traded  with  the  In- 
dians, and  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  on  Old  Town 
creek.  The  price  paid  was  not  large;  only  a  few  beads, 
finger  rings  and  the  like.  They  brought  large  numbers 


A  CATTLE  RANCH  *ON  THE  CAPE  FEAE          43 

of  cattle  from  New  England  and  Virginia  to  stock  their 
farms.  These  men  were  very  industrious,  and  soon  had 
good  sheds  and  stalls  for  the  cattle.  They  attended 
strictly  to  their  business,  and  for  a  time  the  outlook 
seemed  bright. 

In  a  short  while,  however,  they  began  to  see  that 
the  land  was  not  so  well  suited  for  stock-raising  as  they 
had  thought.  Grass  was  not  so  plentiful  as  they  had 
supposed.  The  cattle  did  not  thrive  well.  Disease 
broke  out  among  them,  and  it  looked  as  if  all  their 
"money  and  time  would  be  lost. 

As  their  cattle  business  was  a  failure,  they  deter- 
mined to  make  up  for  their  loss  in  some  way.  So  they 
began  to  lay  plans  to  kidnap  some  Indian  children, 
carry  them  off  to  the  West  Indies,  and  sell  them  as 
slaves  to  the  Spaniards.  There  was  near  the  camp  a 
good-natured  Indian  family  of  several  children.  The 
white  men  had  learned  to  talk  with  these  Indians  in 
their  own  language.  They  spent  a  good  deal  of  the 
time  with  them  and  talked  about  the  interesting  things 
to  be  seen  in  other  places. 

One  of  the  shrewdest  of  the  white  men  one  day  went 
to  the  Indian  wigwam  and  asked  if  he  might  teach  the 
little  boys  and  girls  how  to  read.  The  Indians  had  no 
schools,  and  did  not  know  anything  about  reading. 


44  NOKTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

But  they  were  glad  to  learn,  and  were  delighted  with 
the  idea  of  "making  paper  talk"  and  learning  to  talk 
out  of  a  book.  So  this  shrewd  man  began  to  teach 
school  in  the  wild  Indian  country.  He  told  the  Indians 
about  the  large  schools  in  Massachusetts  and  the  good 
teachers  there. 

"They  have  large  wigwams  with  long  rows  of  seats 
for  the  boys  and  girls  to  sit  on,"  said  this  schoolmaster. 
"They  can  teach  Indians  how  to  read  quickly  there." 

One  of  the  Indian  boys  said  that  he  would  like  to  go 
to  school  in  Massachusetts.  Soon  others  said  that  they 
wanted  to  go,  too.  This  was  what  the  white  man 
wanted,  and  he  persuaded  the  parents  to  let  the  chil- 
dren go.  So  quite  a  large  number  of  Indian  boys  and 
girls  sailed  one  day  from  the  Cape  Fear  in  a  boat  be- 
longing to  the  settlers.  They  thought  they  were  going 
to  Massachusetts  to  school,  but  these  wicked  white 
men  sent  them  to  Cuba  and  sold  them  to  the  Spaniards. 

Time  passed,  and  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  these 
children  began  to  think  that  it  was  time  for  the  pupils 
to  come  back  and  spend  a  vacation  at  home.  But  they 
did  not  come;  and  the  parents  began  to  feel  uneasy. 
They  went  to  the  white  men  and  asked  when  the  little 
Indians  would  come  back. 

"It  has  been  twelve  moons,"  said  the  chief,  "since 


A  CATfLE  RANCH  ON  THE  CAPE  FEAR          45 

they  left,  and  we  want  to  know  when  they  are  coming 
back." 

The  white  men  said  that  school  would  be  out  in  a  few 
weeks,  and  then  the  little  boys  and  girls  would  return. 
That  satisfied  the  Indians  for  a  time,  but  soon  they  sus- 
pected that  they  were  being  deceived.  A  large  body 
of  them  went  to  the  settlers  and  demanded  that  the 
children  be  returned  at  once. 

"We  have  waited,"  said  the  chief,  "for  our  paleface 
brothers  to  bring  back  our  children;  but  we  do  not  in- 
tend to  wait  much  longer." 

"If  the  next  moon,"  said  he,  "does  not  bring  them,  we 
are  going  to  tear  down  your  houses  and  take  your 
scalps." 

That  was  terrible  news  to  these  settlers,  for  none  of 
them  wanted  to  be  scalped.  So  they  concluded  that 
they  would  leave  before  the  Indians  had  time  to  get 
their  knives  sharpened. 

They  got  everything  ready,  and  one  night  sailed 
away,  never  to  return.  The  Indians,  no  doubt,  grieved 
a  long  time  because  their  little  boys  and  girls  had  been 
stolen  from  them.  But  the  poor  children  were  slaves 
in  the  Spanish  colonies. 


BOOK  11 


"We  shall  burn  the  paleface  who  has  been  selling  our  lands." 

29,  Book  n. 


North  Carolina  History  Stories 


THE  FIRST  GOVERNOR 

William  Drummoud,  the  first  governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina, was  a  Scotchman.  He  came  from  Scotland  to 
Jamestown,  Virginia,  when  very  young.  He  was  in- 
dustrious and  intelligent,  and  soon  won  the  respect  of 
the  people  of  the  Jamestown  colony. 

In  1653,  when  people  began  to  move  from  Virginia  to 
the  Chowan  river  in  North  Carolina,  Drummond  was 
one  of  the  first  to  visit  the  new  land.  He  went  there 
with  others  interested,  and  wThen  the  king  gave  the 
land  to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  he  reported  to  them  that 
the  land  was  fertile  and  well  watered. 

A  governor  had  to  be  appointed  for  this  new  colony 
in  North  Carolina.  The  men  in  England  who  owned 
the  land  in  the  colony  sent  word  to  Governor  Berkeley 
of  Virginia  to  appoint  one.  He  went  to  the  settlement 
on  the  Chowan,  consulted  with  the  people,  and  ap- 
pointed William  Drummond.  This  was  agreeable  to 
the  people  of  the  colony. 

(7) 


8  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Governor  Drummond  went  to  North  Carolina  in  1663, 
and  served  as  governor  four  years.  He  was  very 
popular  with  the  people,  and  governed  them  well.  But 
for  some  reason  Governor  Berkeley  removed  him  from 
office  and  put  another  man  in  his  place. 

Drummond  then  went  back  to  Jamestown  to  live. 
Governor  Berkeley  never  liked  Drummond  after  this, 
for  he  thought  that  the  North  Carolina  governor  would 
try  to  do  him  some  harm.  Drummond,  however,  lived 
quietly  in  Jamestown,  and  had  very  little  to  do  with 
public  matters.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  people,  and 
thought  that  they  ought  to  have  more  freedom  than 
Governor  Berkeley  gave  them. 

The  Indians  had  made  war  upon  the  settlers  in  Vir- 
ginia. They  attacked  the  settlements  on  the  James 
river,  and  killed  many  people.  Governor  Berkeley  did 
nothing  to  stop  the  Indians  from  killing  the  people  and 
destroying  the  crops.  This  negligence  of  the  governor 
made  the  people  band  together  for  protection. 

About  three  hundred  men  formed  a  company  to  fight 
the  Indians,  and  chose  for  their  leader  a  young  English- 
man named  Nathaniel  Bacon,  who  had  come  to  the 
colony  only  three  years  before.  Bacon  and  his  men 
asked  Governor  Berkeley  for  a  commission  to  march 
against  the  Indians,  but  the  governor  would  not  give  it 


THE    FIRST   GOVERNOE 

The  people  were  compelled  to  protect  themselves,  so 
a  number  of  them  marched  with  Bacon  against  the 
Indians  and  drove  them  back.  This  made  Berkeley 
very  angry,  and  he  said  that  these  men  should  be  pun- 
ished. 

With  four  hundred  men  Bacon  marched  to  James- 
town to  demand  his  commission,  which  Berkeley 
granted.  Again  Bacon  marched  against  the  Indians 
and  defeated  them.  While  he  was  away  from  James- 
town Berkeley  raised  a  force  of  men  to  resist  Bacon 
and  his  followers.  When  Bacon  returned  from  fighting 
the  Indians  he  marched  to  Jamestown,  and  Berkeley 
was  forced  to  flee  to  a  ship  in  the  river.  • 

Soon  after  this  Bacon  died,  and  his  followers  became 
scattered.  Governor  Berkeley  returned,  and  showed 
himself  to  be  a  better  fighter  against  his  own  people 
than  he  had  been  against  the  Indians.  Many  of 
Bacon's  men  were  killed,  or  taken  prisoners  and 
hanged. 

One  of  the  most  active  followers  of  Bacon  was  Wil- 
liam Drummond.  He  was  taken  prisoner  and  brought 
to  Jamestown.  Governor  Berkeley  showed  a  very  bad 
temper  when  Mr.  Drummond  was  brought  before  him. 

"Mr.  Drummond,"  said  the  governor,  "you  are  very 
welcome.  I  am  more  glad  to  see  you  than  any  man  in 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Virginia.  Mr.  Drummond,  you  shall  be  hanged  in  half 
an  hour." 

"Just  as  you  please,"  replied  Drummond.  "I  am  your 
prisoner,  and  do  not  expect  anything  else  than  death." 

It  took  about  two  hours  to  erect  a  scaffold,  to  go 
through  with  a  form  of  trial,  and  to  pass  sentence  of 
death.  Then  Drummond  was  led  out  to  the  gibbet  and 
hanged.  Thus  ended  in  disgrace,  as  it  seemed,  the  life 
of  the  first  governor  of  North  Carolina,  but  to-day 
Drummond's  name  is  honored  by  all  who  love  liberty 
and  uprightness. 

The  people  hated  Berkeley  so  for  his  tyranny  and 
cruelty  that  he  went  to  England.  The  king  refused  to 
see  him,  and  he  died  in  disgrace. 


THE    TARDY    GOVERNOR  11 


THE  TARDY  GOVERNOR 

At  one  time  the  people  of  North  Carolina  were  as 
hard  to  govern  as  headstrong  schoolboys.  They  were 
very  jealous  of  their  rights,  and  would  not  submit  to 
any  ruler  who  tried  to  force  them  to  do  things  against 
their  will. 

They  had  settled  in  the  wilderness  because  they  were 
in  search  of  homes  where  they  might  be  free  to  live 
without  oppressive  laws;  and  they  were  not  going  to 
let  their  freedom  be  taken  away  from  them  without  a 
struggle.  So  when  the  governor  tried  to  make  the  peo- 
ple obey  an  unjust  law,  they  declared  that  they  would 
not.  They  took  up  arms  against  the  governor  and  his 
men.  This  was  in  1676.  Peter  Carteret  was  then  gov- 
ernor. 

He  tried  to  carry  out  the  laws  that  were  made  in 
England  by  the  Proprietors;  but  the  people  would  not 
submit.  When  they  disobeyed  the  laws,  he  punished 
them  for  it.  Thus  the  colony  was  in  a  state  of  trouble 
and  disorder. 

At  that  time  there  were  two  men  living  in  North 
Carolina  whose  names  were  Thomas  Eastchurch  and 

kar'ter  et 


12  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Thomas  Miller.  These  men 'had  great  influence  with 
the  people.  Eastchurch  was  Speaker  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  Miller  was  very  popular  with  the  people. 
Both  of  them  sided  with  the  people  in  their  struggle 
against  the  governor. 

Once  Miller  went  to  the  governor  and  told  him  that 
the  people  would  not  submit  to  a  certain  law  that  he 
was  trying  to  enforce. 

"I  tell  you,  governor,"  said  he,  "these  people  are  not 
going  to  give  up  their  rights." 

Governor  Carteret  had  him  arrested  for  this  lan- 
guage and  sent  to  Jamestown  for  trial.  He  was  turned 
loose,  however.  He  then  went  to  England  to  complain 
to  the  Lords  Proprietors  about  his  treatment.  They 
listened  to  him  and  promised  to  make  the  matter  right. 

Meanwhile  Eastchurch  had  been  sent  to  England  by 
the  people  to  tell  the  Proprietors  that  they  would  not 
submit  to  the  unjust  laws.  The  two  men  met  in  Lon- 
don and  united  in  presenting  their  complaints.  East- 
church  was  a  handsome  man,  with  plenty  of  good  sense. 
The  Proprietors  heard  him  with  pleasure,  and  were 
much  impressed  with  him.  They  thought  that  East- 
church  was  the  very  man  to  be  made  governor  of  North 
Carolina,  and  so  they  appointed  him  to  that  office. 


THE    TARDY    GOVERNOR  13 

Miller  was  appointed  as  secretary  and  collector  of  cus- 
toms in  Albemarle. 

After  being  appointed,  these  two  men  set  out  for 
North  Carolina  to  begin  their  labors.  They  had  re- 
ceived more  honors  than  they  had  ever  hoped  for.  On 
the  way  across  the  ocean  they  stopped  at  the  island  of 
Nevis.  There  Eastchurch  met  a  beautiful  Creole  lady, 
with  whom  he  fell  deeply  in  love.  He  forgot  all  about 
his  duties  in  North  Carolina,  and  lingered  on  the  island 
in  the  company  of  this  lady. 

After  a  while  he  sent  Miller  on  to  North  Carolina 
to  act  as  governor  until  he  should  come.  Miller 
went  to  North  Carolina  and  was  welcomed  by  the  peo- 
ple. He  told  them  that  Governor  Eastchurch  was  on 
the  way,  and  would  arrive  soon. 

Miller  ruled  \vell  for  a  time,  but  soon  the  people  be- 
came dissatisfied.  There  was  a  noted  man  in  the  colony 
named  John  Culpepper.  He  encouraged  the  people  to 
'resist  some  of  the  demands  of  Miller.  Trouble  broke 
out,  and  the  colony  was  again  in  danger  of  war.  Miller 
was  forced  to  give  up  his  position  and  leave  the  colony. 

During  all  this  time  Eastchurch  had  remained  on  the 
island  of  Nevis.  He  had  wron  the  love  of  the  beautiful 
Creole  lady  and  had  married  her.  Then  he  remem- 

nev'is 


U  jteWtt  CAROLINA  HisfoaV 


bered  that  he  was  governor  of  North  Carolina,  and 
made  haste  to  leave  the  island  for  his  field  of  labor. 
Accompanied  by  his  wife,  he  set  out  for  home,  but 
when  he  arrived  there  he  found  matters  in  bad  shape. 
Miller  had  been  deposed  from  office  and  John  Culpep- 
per  put  in  his  place.  No  one  received  him  as  governor. 
He  found  himself  in  a  country  with  a  title  to  the  high- 
est office,  but  another  man  filling  the  office. 

Eastchurch  now  began  to  realize  what  he  had  lost 
while  he  was  stopping  on  the  island  of  Nevis.  He  went 
to  Virginia  to  see  if  he  could  get  help  to  uphold  his 
authority  in  North  Carolina.  No  one  there  took  any 
special  interest  in  his  case,  and  after  many  disappoint- 
ments and  failures  he  died  heartbroken.  He  had  prom- 
ised a  high  position  to  his  wife,  the  beautiful  Creole 
lady,  but  she  found  herself  a  homeless  exile  with  him. 
Yet  she  remained  true  to  him  to  the  last,  and  encour- 
aged him  in  every  way  in  her  power. 


JOHN   LAWSON   AND  THE  ALLIGATORS  15 


JOHN  LAWSON  AND  THE  ALLIGATORS 

About  the  year  1700  John  Lawson  came  to  North 
Carolina  to  live.  His  home  had  been  in  England.  He 
wanted  to  see  the  New  World,  and  so  came  over  in  one 
of  the  trading  vessels.  His  boat  landed  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  and  he  stopped  there  about  four 
months.  It  is  probable  that  he  would  have  decided  to 
live  there,  but  when  some  one  told  him  that  North 
Carolina  was  the  most  delightful  country  in  the  world, 
he  came  to  this  colony  to  find  a  home. 

Lawson  was  a  very  sensible  man,  and  his  coming  was 
worth  much  to  the  colony.  He  was  a  good  surveyor, 
and  soon  found  plenty  of  work  in  his  new  home.  The 
settlers  made  him  surveyor-general  of  the  colony.  In  a 
short  while  he  became  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  the 
country. 

WThile  Lawson  was  surveying  he  kept  a  record  of 
what  he  did  each  day.  From  this  record  he  afterwards 
wrote  a  book  about  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  in 
North  Carolina,  and  had  it  published  under  the  name  of 
"History  of  North  Carolina."  It  was  a  very  interesting 
book  at  the  time.  It  told  about  the  Indians,  the  ani- 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

mals  and  the  birds  that  lived  in  the  swamps  and  forests 
where  he  had  been  surveying.  The  book  is  not  printed 
now,  but  may  be  found  in  some  of  the  old  libraries 
owned  by  private  individuals,  and  in  the  State  library 
at  Raleigh. 

Once  Lawson  had  quite  a  strange  experience.  He 
was  surveying  land  on  the  Neuse  river  not  far  from 
where  Newbern  now  is.  ^ear  the  bank  of  the  river  he 
had  built  a  small  house  in  which  he  could  stay  at  night 
with  his  dog  and  a  friendly  Indian.  In  this  house  they 
dwelt  for  some  weeks.  About  one  mile  away  was  an 
Indian  village. 

One  night  Lawson  was  sitting  in  his  little  house. 
His  dog  was  slumbering  in  the  corner.  His  Indian 
companion  had  gone  to  the  village  to  visit  his  people. 
Lawson  was  writing  his  journal  and  laying  plans  for 
his  next  day's  work.  It  was  in  March,  just  before  spring 
opens.  Suddenly  he  heard  a  tremendous  roaring  di- 
rectly under  his  house.  He  did  not  know  what  to  think 
of  it.  His  dog  became  frightened  and  whined  as  if  in 
great  distress.  The  roaring  would  come  in  spells,  and 
seemed  to  shake  the  earth  under  his  feet. 

Lawson  was  a  brave  man,  but  this  noise  under  his 
house  made  him  feel  very  uncomfortable.  He  had 
never  heard  anything  like  it  before.  Presently  he  be- 


JOHN    LAW80N   AND   THE   ALLIGATORS  17 

gan  to  think  that  it  was  some  trick  which  the  Indians 
were  playing  to  steal  his  goods.  So  he  decided  that  he 
would  not  go  out  of  the  house,  and  if  the  Indians 
wanted  to  steal  anything  from  him  they  would  have  to 
break  in.  He  stood  inside  and  waited  for  the  attack. 
But  the  attack  did  not  come,  though  the  noise  under 
the  house  was  kept  up.  It  grew  so  loud  that  it  shook 
the  house  and  made  a  horrible  din.  The  dog  was  almost 
dead  with  fear.  Lawson  himself  started  to  rush  from 
the  house  and  seek  a  place  of  safety;  but  just  as  he  was 
about  to  open  the  door  some  one  knocked.  It  was  the 
friendly  Indian  who  had  returned  from  the  village. 

The  Indian  told  Lawson  what  caused  the  noise.  He 
said  it  was  an  alligator  that  had  made  its  bed  under  the 
house  deep  down  in  the  earth.  There  it  had  stayed  all 
winter,  asleep,  but  as  spring  had  come  the  alligator 
was  getting  ready  to  come  out  of  winter  quarters. 
Lawson  moved  his  house  and  gave  the  'gator  all  the 
room  he  wanted.  Afterwards  he  studied  the  habits  of 
these  animals,  and  found  that  on  the  approach  of  winter 
they  went  down  into  the  mud  and  cut  their  way  up 
to  the  highland,  where  they  remained  until  spring. 
The  house  had  been  built  over  a  nest  of  them,  and  they 
were  getting  ready  to  come  out  of  their  winter  homes. 

Lawson  lived  about  ten  years  in  North  Carolina.    He 


18  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

went  over  most  of  the  Albemarle  and  Neuse  river  sec- 
tions, but  he  never  had  another  such  experience  with 
alligators.  Lawson  was  afterwards  put  to  death  by  the 
Indians  in  a  verv  cruel  manner. 


THE    ALBEMARLE    BOSS  19 


THE  ALBEMARLE  BOSS 

There  was  once  a  man  m  the  Alberaarle  colony  who 
had  a  way  of  persuading  people  to  do  things  just  as  he 
told  them,  and  who  made  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  This 
man  was  John  Porter.  He  lived  in  Edenton  near  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  was  a  very 
shrewd,  but  bad,  man.  His  influence  over  the  people  of 
his  time  was  wonderful. 

Most  of  the  people  who  had  settled  in  North  Carolina 
had  moved  there  to  escape  unjust  laws  and  to  secure 
the  right  to  live  without  oppression.  They  were  very 
quick,  therefore,  to  oppose  any  law  that  was  oppressive; 
and  they  were  suspicious  of  those  who  were  sent  to  rule 
over  them.  John  Porter  was  one  of  the  men  who  en- 
couraged the  people  to  resist  the  governors  that  were 
sent  to  North  Carolina.  He  did  this  without  waiting  to 
see  whether  the  laws  were  right  or  wrong. 

When  Colonel  Carey  became  governor  in  1705,  John 
Porter  began  to  stir  up  the  people.  He  soon  had  them 
very  much  dissatisfied.  Governor  Carey  made  every 
one  appointed  to  office  take  an  oath  that  he  would  do 

his  duty  while  in  office.    This  was  a  right  and  necessary 
5 


20 

thing,  but  it  displeased  a  large  number  of  people.  They 
did  not  believe  in  taking  oaths  for  anything. 

John  Porte*r  did  not  care  whether  anybody  took  an 
oath  or  not,  but  he  complained  against  this  law  of  the 
governor's.  In  fact,  he  complained  louder  than  any- 
body else,  and  tried  to  make  the  people  think  that  it 
was  a  dreadful  thing  to  take  an  oath. 

His  loud  complaints  gave  him  a  free  ride  to  England; 
for  the  people  chose  him  as  a  delegate  to  go  there  and 
ask  that  Governor  Carey  be  removed  from  office.  Por- 
ter was  a  good  talker,  and  he  soon  persuaded  the  Pro- 
prietors to  depose  Carey  and  put  another  man  in  his 
place.  They  gave  him  a  commission  to  go  back  to 
North  Carolina  and  call  a  meeting  of  the  people  to  elect 
another  governor. 

Soon  after  his  return,  the  citizens  met  and  asked 
Governor  Carey  to  give  up  the  office.  Then  the  dele- 
gates asked  John  Porter  what  they  must  do  next.  Some 
thought  that  he  would  have  himself  elected  governor, 
but  he  did  not.  He  told  them  to  elect  William  Glover, 
and  they  did  so.  No  doubt  John  Porter  thought  that 
Glover  would  do  as  he  was  told,  but  he  was  mistaken. 
No  sooner  was  Glover  made  governor  than  he  began  to 
do  the  same  things  that  Carey  had  done.  This  made 

giuv'er 


THE    ALBEMABLE    BOSS  21 

Porter  very  indignant.  He  swore  a  big  oath,  which 
was  the  thing  he  was  fighting,  and  said  that  he  would 
have  William  Glover  put  out  of  the  office.  So  he  called 
the  people  together  in  another  meeting  and  made  a  big 
speech  to  them. 

"We. made  a  mistake,"  said  Boss  Porter,  "in  electing 
this  man  Glover  to  rule  over  us.  He  is  a  rascal,  and 
ought  to  be  driven  from  the  colony.  We  do  not  wrant 
such  a  governor." 

"Down  with  him!"  shouted  the  assembly,  and  Glover 
was  voted  out.  Now  was  Porter's  chance  to  make  him 
self  governor,  but  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  prize 
and  walked  out.  He  sent  in  word  that  he  would  return 
in  a  little  while.  He  went  straight  to. the  house  of  Colo- 
nel Carey  and  knocked  at  the  door.  Carey  was  sur- 
prised to  see  his  old  enemy  coming  to  visit  him.  The 
two  shook  hands  and  went  into  the  house. 

"Colonel  Carey,"  said  Porter,  "I've  come  to  get  you  to 
take  the  office  of  governor  again." 

"You  have?"  said  Carey,  laughing.  "That  is  strange. 
You  must  have  forgotten  what  you  did  a  short  while 
ago." 

"No,  indeed!"  replied  the  other,  "but  we  want  you  on 
our  side.  You  must  come  over  and  be  one  of  us." 

So  these  men  entered  into  a  bargain,  and  Porter  went 


22  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

back  to  have  Carey  re-elected  to  the  office  of  governor. 
This  was  done,  and  the  assembly  adjourned.  Governor 
Glover  and  the  other  men  who  were  on  his  side  fled  to 
Virginia.  John  Porter  and  Carey  ruled  just  as  they 
wished  for  several  years. 

After  a  while  the  Proprietors  in  England  appointed 
Edward  Hyde  as  governor.  He  came  over  in  1710. 
Governor  Carey  and  John  Porter  seemed  to  be  glad  to 
see  the  new  governor,  and  gave  up  the  place  without  a 
word.  It  seemed  that  the  troubles  of  the  colony  were 
over,  but  they  were  not;  for  John  Porter  loved  to  make 
trouble.  Soon  he  aroused  the  people  against  Governor 
Hyde.  He  called  them  together  and  declared  that  Hyde 
was  not  governor.  He  then  induced  the  people  to  elect 
Carey  for  the  third  time.  Governor  Hyde,  however, 
did  not  run,  as  Glover  had  done.  He  had  come  there  to 
be  governor,  and  he  was  not  going  to  be  deposed. 

Carey  and  his  followers  said  they  were  going  to  hang 
Governor  Hyde  if  they  could  catch  him.  But  Hyde  was 
no  coward.  He  collected  as  many  men  as  he  could  and 
waited  for  Carey  to  come  and  hang  him.  Carey  came, 
but  Hyde  and  his  men  shot  so  rapidly  and  accurately 
that  Carey  and  his  followers  decided  to  wait  a  few  days 
before  catching  him. 

In  a  day  or  two  Governor  Hyde  thought  that ,  he 


THE    ALBBMAKLB  BOSS  23 

would  visit  Carey  and  see  if  he  had  the  rope  ready  for 
him.  Carey  did  not  wait  to  receive  him,  but  fled  to  the 
swamps  and  carried  the  rope  with  him. 

Shortly  afterwards  Carey  was  captured  and  sent  to 
England  for  trial.  John  Porter  wrent  to  the  Indians 
and  tried  to  rule  them  as  he  had  the  colonists;  but  he 
soon  found  that  he  could  not  do  so.  He  did  succeed, 
however,  in  bringing  on  a  great  Indian  war. 


24:  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


AN  ADVENTURE  ON  THE  NEUSE 

In  the  summer  of  1711  John  Lawson  and  several 
other  men  went  up  the  Neuse  river  to  explore  the  coun- 
try. Baron  de  Graffenreid,  a  Swiss  nobleman,  was  in 
the  company.  He  had  brought  over  from  England  a 
large  number  of  settlers,  who  had  made  homes  for 
themselves  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  He  wished  to 
see  whether  there  were  good  places  for  settlements  up 
the  river.  Lawson,  who  was  the  surveyor-general  of 
the  colony,  was  also  interested  in  the  upland  country. 
He  was  interested,  also,  in  the  birds  and  animals  that 
lived  in  the  swamps. 

The  men  carried  provisions  enough  to  last  for  several 
weeks.  All  along  the  river  they  noticed  the  large  trees 
and  beautiful  flowers.  The  birds  also  were  plentiful 
and  pretty.  Squirrels  and  foxes  were  often  seen,  and 
sometimes  the  howl  of  wolves  was  heard.  John  Law- 
son  made  notes  of  all  these  things.  The  white  men 
thought  it  was  a  very  beautiful  country.  Several  times 
they  stopped,  and  Lawson  surveyed  the  lands  on  both 
sides  of  the  river. 

For  several  days  they  had  gone  on  without  seeing  an 
graf'en-reet 


AN   ADVENTURE    ON   THE    NEU8E  25 

Indian.  That  seemed  strange,  for  the  red  men  had  al- 
ways before  come  out  to  meet  the  white  men.  They 
had  been  very  friendly  to  the  white  people.  But  now 
not  one  was  to  be  seen.  They  seemed  to  have  left  the 
country.  One  day,  however,  while  the  white  men  were 
eating  their  midday  meal,  they  saw  a  party  of  Indians 
watching  them  from  a  hill  some  distance  away.  The 
white  men  did  not  fear  them,  but  they  could  not  under- 
stand why  they  were  watched  by  the  Indians.  They  did 
not  know  that  the  savages  had  formed  a  plot  to  kill  all 
the  white  people,  and  were  at  this  very  time  on  the  war- 
path. 

After  finishing  their  dinner,  Lawson  and  his  men 
went  farther  into  the  woods.  They  wanted  to  see  the 
timber  lands  higher  up  the  river.  For  some  time  they 
marched  on  without  noticing  that  the  Indians  were  fol- 
lowing them.  Presently  it  was  seen  that  a  considerable 
body  of  red  men  was  creeping  along  behind,  trying  to 
keep  themselves  hid  behind. trees  and  undergrowth. 

"Look  at  those  red  devils,"  said  Graffenreid.  "Just 
as  sure  as  the  sun  shines,  they  mean  mischief.  Don't 
you  see  they  have  on  their  war  paint  and  plumes?" 

Lawson  was  quite  sure  that  they  were  after  scalps. 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  he,  "I  am  quite  sure  that  we  are 
going  to  have  trouble,  and  if  we  get  out  alive  it  will  be 


26  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

a  kindness  of  Providence.  I  think  they  intend  to  at- 
tack us." 

"Let  us  then  prepare  to  receive  them,"  said  the  baron. 
"I,  for  one,  do  not  want  to  be  butchered  without  doing 
some  damage  in  return." 

As  it  was  nearly  night,  the  party  halted  and  made  a 
fire  to  warm  their  food.  There  were  only  six  or  eight  of 
them,  and  it  seemed  useless  to  resist  if  the  redskins 
should  make  an  attack.  They  felt  quite  sure  that  the 
attack  would  come,  but  they  were  in  doubt  as  to  how 
they  should  act.  Graffenreid  said  that  he  was  going  to 
sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  he  could.  Lawson  said  that  he 
was  no  fighter,  but  would  defend  himself  to  the  last. 

Soon  the  attack  came.  About  sixty  of  the  savages 
rushed  upon  them  with  shouts  and  yells.  The  white 
men  fought  the  best  they  could,  but  the  Indians  ran 
ever  them,  beat  them  to  the  ground,  and  bound  their 
hands  and  arms.  Then  they  were  forced  to  travel  all 
night  with  these  Indians  to  a  town  some  miles  inland. 
Footsore  and  weary  they  reached  the  town  early  next 
day,  and  were  delivered  to  the  chief  in  charge. 

That  afternoon  a  council  of  all  the  chiefs  in  the  tribe 
was  called  to  decide  what  should  be  done  with  the  pris- 
oners. Lawson,  Graffenreid  and  the  others  were  car- 
ried into  the  assembly  and  made  to  stand  in  the  center 


AN    ADVENTURE    ON    THE    NEUSE  27 

with  all  the  chiefs  seated  around  them.     The  king  of 
the  tribe  from  a  high  seat  questioned  them. 

"Why  did  our  paleface  brothers  come  up  the  river?-' 
asked  he.  "Have  they  come  to  spy  our  land  and  take  it 
from  us?" 

"No,  indeed,"  said  the  baron.  "We  are  looking  for  a 
short  way  to  Virginia.  If  we  wanted  your  land  we 
would  offer  you  money  for  it." 

"Did  not  Indians  see  the  paleface  brother  with  the 
chain,  measuring  our  land  on  the  river?  How,  then, 
can  he  say  that  he  wants  not  the  land?" 

Lawson  told  them  that  he  measured  the  land  so  that 
he  could  draw  a  map  of  the  country.  Then  he  showed 
them  one  of  the  maps  that  he  had  drawn.  They  were 
much  pleased  with  the  map,  and  seemed  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  explanation.  Finally  they  decided  that  the 
prisoners  should  be  released  and  sent  home  the  next 
day.  So  Lawson  and  his  friends  slept  soundly  that 
night,  for  they  felt  that  they  would  be  allowed  to  go 
back  home.  But  a  far  different  fate  awaited  them. 

On  the  next  day,  instead  of  being  turned  loose,  they 
were  carried  before  another  council  and  asked  more 
questions.  At  this  council  was  a  Core  Indian  whom 
Lawson  had  known  some  time  before,  and  with  whom 
he  had  had  some  trouble.  This  Indian  was  a  bitter 


28  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

enemy  of  the  white  people,  and  spoke  against  turning 
them  loose. 

"Palefaces  have  taken  away  our  lands,"  he  said,  "and 
now  they  are  after  yours.  This  man  with  the  chain 
measures  and  sells  to  white  men.  He  is  the  man  that 
has  turned  our  hunting  grounds  into  cornfields.  He  is 
the  man  who  will  measure  your  land  and  plant  corn  in 
the  places  where  the  deer  and  the  squirrel  are  now 
found.  Would  you  rather  have  the  white  man's  corn 
growing  upon  your  land  or  the  deer  and  the  quail  there? 
O,  Tuscaroras,  look  well  to  your  hunting  grounds!" 

This  speech  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  savages. 
Lawson  and  his  companions  were  beaten  with  clubs 
and  condemned  to  death.  The  council  broke  up  to  carry 
out  the  sentence.  They  were  roughly  dragged  to  the 
place  of  execution. 

"Would  you  put  a  king  to  death?"  asked  the  baron. 
"Such  a  thing  is  never  done.  It  would  grieve  the  Great 
Spirit." 

"Who  is  king?"  questioned  the  Indians,  almost  all 
at  once. 

"I  am  king  of  fifteen  hundred  palefaces,  who  are  now 
looking  for  me,"  answered  the  baron.     "They  would 
tus'ka  ro'ras 


"  AN   ADVENTURE   ON  THE  NEUSE 

never  forgive  their  dark-skin  brothers  if  their  king  were 
put  to  death." 

The  chiefs  talked  together  very  rapidly  and  excitedly. 
There  appeared  to  be  two  parties  among  them — one  for 
execution  and  the  other  for  turning  the  prisoners  loose. 
Finally  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  great 
chief  came  to  the  white  men  and  said  with  much  earn- 
estness: 

"Palefaces,  you  are  in  our  hands.  We  can  do  with 
you  what  seems  best  to  us.  Nothing  can  save  you  from 
our  power.  We  shall  burn  the  paleface  who  has  been 
selling  our  land,  but  the  king  we  shall  hold  as  a  pris- 
oner to  keep  his  people  from  making  war  on  us.  Now 
you  have  heard  our  decision." 

The  baron  was  led  away  to  another  part  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  Lawson  was  stripped  of  his  clothing.  They 
then  made  hundreds  of  sharpened  lightwood  splinters, 
keen  at  both  ends.  They  stuck  these  splinters  into  the 
flesh,  of  poor  Lawson  and  danced  around  him  with  de- 
light. Then  these  human  devils  bound  Lawson  to  a 
stake.  They  danced  the  war  dance  around  him  and 
sang  their  dreadful  songs.  Presently  they  set  fire  to 
the  splinters  and  burned  him  to  death. 

The  baron  could  hear  what  was  going  on,  and  knew 
that  the  Indians  were  tormenting  their  prisoner. 


30  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Soon  the  savages  came  to  him  and  told  him  that  they 
had  killed  Lawson.  Graffenreid  was  afraid  they  had 
come  for  him  to  share  the  same  fate.  But  the  chief 
said  that  he  would  be  held  as  a  prisoner,  and  that  his 
life  would  be  spared.  Graffenreid's  negro  man  was  in 
the  same  room,  and  the  Indians  looked  at  him  as  if  to 
say,  "It  is  your  turn  now." 

"King  of  the  palefaces,"  said  the  chief,  "you  need  not 
be  afraid,  for  we  will  not  kill  you.  But  Indian  braves 
want  more  song  and  more  dance  to-night.  Your  black 
man  must  be  burned." 

This  was  dreadful  news  to  the  baron,  for  he  was  very 
fond  of  the  faithful  negro,  who  had  been  with  him 
so  long  and  had  served  him  so  well.  He  tried  to  change 
the  redskins  from  their  purpose. 

"This  poor  fellow,"  the  baron  said,  "has  never  done 
any  harm  to  the  Indians.  He  came  because  I  did. 
Spare  him  and  you  shall  be  rewarded." 

"He  give  Indians  fun,"  grunted  the  chief. 

As  night  came  on  more  Indians  came  into  the  village. 
They  made  large  fires  here  and  there.  Sometimes  they 
would  yell  like  madmen,  and  the  blood  of  the  white 
man  ran  cold  and  the  poor  negro  was  almost  dead  with 
fear.  Finally  they  came  and  seized  the  negro  and 
carried  him  off.  He  struggled  with  his  enemies,  but 


AN    ADVENTURE    ON   THE    NEU8E  31 

they  dragged  him  along  to  the  place  of  execution. 
There  they  bound  him  to  the  stake.  Then  they  piled  up 
pieces  of  dry  pine  wood  around  him  and  set  them  on 
fire.  Then  they  danced  around  the  sufferer  until  death 
relieved  him  of  his  agony. 

Such  things  are  dreadful  to  relate,  but  they  hap- 
pened long  ago,  before  the  white  people  had  come  in 
numbers  large  enough  to  prevent  it.  It  was  against 
such  savages  that  the  settlers  had  to  contend,  to  make 
this  country  the  home  of  the  white  men. 

The  savages  held  the  baron  for  a  long  time  as  their 
prisoner.  They  let  him  go  when  he  promised  them  that 
he  would  not  make  war  upon  them.  He  kept  the 
promise,  and  would  not  join  in  the  war  which  the  white 
people  made  upon  the  Indians  the  next  year. 


32  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


AN  INDIAN  MASSACRE 

« 

When  John  Porter  was  driven  away  from  the  settle- 
ment on  the  Chowan  river,  he  went  to  the  country  of 
the  Indians.  They  received  him  kindly,  for  they  had 
always  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the  white  people. 
But  it  was  not  very  long  before  he  persuaded  them  to 
begin  a  war  against  the  settlers.  He  told  them  that  the 
colonists  had  been  getting  ready  for  some  time  to  drive 
the  Indians  away  from  their  lands,  and  were  only  wait- 
ing to  receive  guns  and  ammunition  from  England. 

There  was  a  noted  chief  among  the  Tuscaroras, 
named  Handcock.  He  had  never  been  a  friend  to  the 
settlers.  He  listened  to  Porter's  story  with  delight. 
He  questioned  him,  and  found  out  that  the  settlers 
were  fighting  each  other,  or  rather  that  there  were  two 
factions  that  were  opposed  to  each  other.  Porter  gave 
him  all  the  information  he  wanted,  and  often  he  told 
things  that  were  untrue.  Handcock  was  pleased  with 
the  idea  of  attacking  the  settlers,  and  called  the  chiefs 
together  to  decide  upon  the  plan. 

When  all  the  chiefs  had  come  together  under  a  large 
oak  tree,  he  arose  and  said  to  them  in  his  own  language: 

"Tuscarora  chiefs,  most  fleet  of  foot  and  strong  in 


AN    INDIAN    MASSACRE  33 

arms,  you  are  the  masters  of  chis  land.  You  have  re- 
ceived it  as  a  gift  from  the  Great  Spirit.  You  and  your 
fathers  have  hunted  the  deer  by  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
and  chased  the  raccoon  and  the  fox  in  these  woods.  It 
is  yours  to  live  upon.  It  is  yours  to  leave  to  your  chil- 
dren. Will  you  give  it  up  to  the  palefaces  who  have 
come  among  us?  I  know  you  will  not,  for  it  is  your 
right  to  stay  here." 

Handcock  then  told  them  the  story  which  Porter  had 
told  him :  how  the  settlers  were  only  waiting  to  get  help 
from  England  to  drive  them  from  their  homes.  For 
a  while  all  were  silent.  Then  Tom  Blunt,  another  chief, 
arose  and  said  that  he  would  like  to  hear  from  the  pale- 
face brother.  Porter  replied  that  there  was  a  division 
among  the  white  people;  some  wanted  to  begin  war 
upon  the  Indians  at  once,  while  others  opposed  it.  He 
himself  had  opposed  it,  and  for  that  reason  he  had  to 
leave  the  settlement.  That  was  a  big  falsehood,  but 
the  Indians  did  not  know  that  it  was. 

The  matter  of  beginning  war  upon  the  settlers  was 
next  discussed.  Handcock  and  a  majority  of  the  chiefs 
were  in  favor  of  war,  but  Tom  Blunt  and  a  few  others 
opposed  it.  When  the  vote  was  taken  it  was  seen  that 
all  except  a  few  chiefs  favored  immediate  war.  Tom 
Blunt  and  those  who  sided  with  him  withdrew  from 


O*  WORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

the  convention  and  carried  the  matter  to  their  follow- 
ers. They  remained  neutral  in  the  war,  and  for  their 
fidelity  were  afterwards  rewarded. 

Handcock  set  about  making  preparation  for  war. 
The  matter  was  kept  a  profound  secret.  Even  Blunt 
and  his  followers  kept  the  matter  to  themselves. 

When  the  Indians  were  ready  to  strike  the  fatal 
blow,  twelve  hundred  Tuscarora  warriors  assembled  in 
the  forest  to  begin  their  work  of  death.  There  they 
divided  into  three  commands.  One  division  was  to 
strike  the  settlements  on  the  Pamlico,  another  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Roanoke,  and  a  third  those  on  the 


Silently  they  began  their  march.  They  approached 
the  appointed  places  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before 
they  were  to  make  the  attack.  The  settlers  were  uncon- 
scious of  any  danger.  They  were  going  about  their 
regular  business  without  a  thought  of  trouble. 

Out  in  the  forest  the  Tuscarora  army  was  waiting  for 
sunrise  before  making  an  attack.  Many  of  them  threw 
aside  their  various  weapons  of  war  and  came  into  the 
settlements,  mixing  with  the  people  whom  they  ex- 
pected to  murder  next  day.  They  appeared  to  be 
friendly,  and  the  settlers  treated  them  with  kindness, 
little  thinking  that  the  next  day  would  be  their  last. 


AN    INDIAN    MASSACRE  35 

When  night  came  the  Indians  in  the  villages  disap- 
peared to  join  their  comrades  in  the  woods. 

At  sunrise  a  dreadful  warwhoop  was  heard,  and  the 
settlers  were  astonished  to  see  their  homes  surrounded 
by  a  band  of  fierce  savages.  It  was  in  vain  that  the 
white  men  seized  their  arms.  The  settlements  were 
scattered,  and  the  settlers  were  compelled  to  fight  sin- 
gle-handed against  large  bodies  of  Indians.  So  it  was 
not  a  battle,  but  a  massacre.  Those  of  the  whites  who 
escaped  the  first  attack  fled  to  the  forests.  Women  and 
children  ran  for  life,  but  often  it  was  death  that  they 
found.  Many  were  overtaken  and  cut  down. 

The  torch  was  applied,  and  it  consumed  what  the 
tomahawk  left.  Houses  that  had  cost  years  of  toil  were 
burned.  Fields  of  grain  were  destroyed.  Cattle  were 
killed.  Nothing  was  left  to  meet  the  wants  of  those 
who  escaped. 

This  dreadful  massacre  had  happened  at  three  dif- 
ferent settlements  at  the  same  time.  Those  who  es- 
caped the  slaughter  came  near  starving  in  the  woods 
before  help  could  reach  them.  But  assistance  came 
after  a  while,  and  with  it  a  cry  for  vengeance  upon  the 
redskins.  With  such  an  act  as  an  example,  it  was  seen 
that  there  could  be  no  compromise  with  the  Tuscaroras. 
They  must  be  destroyed  or  driven  out  of  North  Carolina. 

Such  was  the  determination  of  every  white  man. 
6 


36  NOBTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  BARNWELL 

After  the  Tuscaroras  had  killed  so  many  white  peo- 
ple, they  went  back  into  the  forests  to  see  what  would 
be  done.  They  believed  that  the  settlers  would  make 
war  upon  them.  To  prepare  for  it,  they  built  a  strong 
fort  about  twenty  miles  from  Newbern,  and  placed  in 
it  all  their  weapons  and  war  supplies. 

As  the  settlers  felt  that  they  were  unable  to  whip 
the  Indians,  they  sent  messengers  to  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina  for  help.  Both  colonies  promised  to 
send  troops.  South  Carolina  was  the  first  to  send  them. 

Colonel  John  Barnwell,  with  an  army  of  friendly 
Indians  and  a  few  whites,  came  rapidly  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  settlers.  When  he  got  to  Newbern  he  found 
out  that  the  Tuscaroras  were  not  far  from  there.  He 
was  ready  to  fight  them,  and  lost  no  time  in  going  in 
search  of  them.  As  he  came  into  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fort,  he  found  that  the  Indians  were  posted  just 
ahead,  in  the  woods,  in  considerable  numbers.  Barn- 
well  was  glad  to  hear  of  this,  for  he  preferred  to  fight 
them  in  the  field  rather  than  to  attack  them  in  their 
fort.  So  he  ordered  his  men  to  halt  and  prepare  for 
battle. 


CAPTURE   OF   FOKT   BAKNWELL  37 

He  then  sent  some  of  the  friendly  Indians  to  find  out 
exactly  the  position  of  the  Tuscaroras.  Soon  they  came 
back  and  said  that  it  would  be  hard  to  drive  the  enemy 
from  their  position,  but  it  could  be  done. 

"Prepare  for  action!"  said  Colonel  Barn  well.  "For- 
ward! March!  Stop  not  until  the  fort  has  been  taken!" 
With  a  rush  the  South  Carolina  Indians  and  whites  as- 
saulted the  position  of  the  Tuscaroras,  and  carried 
everything  before  them.  The  Tuscaroras  fought 
bravely,  but  they  could  not  stand  the  rush  that  was 
made  upon  their  line.  In  a  very  short  time  three  hun- 
dred of  them  were  killed.  The  others  fled  to  the  fort 
and  shut  themselves  up  in  its  walls. 

In  this  fort  they  had  gathered  all  their  wealth  from 
the  fields  and  from  the  forests.  The  old  men  and  women 
as  well  as  the  boys  and  the  girls  were  there.  In  fact, 
this  was  the  last  stand,  as  they  thought,  of  the  Tusca- 
rora  nation. 

Barnwell  approached  the  fort  with  much  caution. 
He  drew  his  lines  around  it  with  a  firm  grip.  Then 
leading  a  charge  he  went  up  to  the  very  walls,  but  he 
was  wounded  and  had  to  be  taken  from  the  field.  His 
men  fell  back. 

The  Indians  in  the  fort  were  joyous.  They  gave  a  war- 
whoop,  leaped  upon  the  wall,  and  were  about  to  make  a 


38  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

charge  upon  Barnwell's  men,  when  Colonel  Mitchell 
wheeled  his  cannon  into  line  and  began  to  fire  grape- 
shot  at  them.  They  leaped  back  into  the  fort  to  protect 
themselves.  Mitchell  moved  his  gun  toward  the  fort, 
firing  as  he  went.  Eis  shots  struck  the  walls,  which 
began  to  give  way;  but  just  as  his  gun  was  about  to 
make  an  opening  an  order  was  received  from  Colonel 
Barnwell  to  cease  firing,  and  to  retreat  to  his  former 
position. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  the  colonel?"  asked  Mitch- 
ell. "Can't  he  see  that  the  fort  is  ours,  and  that  it  will 
take  only  half  a  dozen  more  shots  to  destroy  the  walls?" 

Much  to  his  sorrow  he  had  to  obey  this  order  and 
withdraw  his  company.  That  left  the  Indians  in  the 
fort  free  from  attack  again.  A  big  Indian  at  once 
mounted  the  wall  and  waved  as  if  he  wished  to  say 
something  to  some  one  in  Barnwell's  army.  A  friendly 
Indian  was  directed  to  approach  and  hear  what  he 
might  say. 

"Hear,  O  white  men!"  he  said;  "you  have  killed  many 
of  our  braves.  Why  do  you  wish  to  kill  our  women  and 
children?  If  you  will  let  us  go  from  this  place  with 
our  wives  and  children,  we  will  leave  the  country  and 
brethren  on  the  shores  of  the  great  northern 


CAPTURE   OF   FORT   BARNWELL  39 

waters.  If  you  will  not,  then  we  go  anyhow,  but  much 
blood  of  the  white  men  will  be  shed." 

This  speech  displeased  Colonel  Mitchell  and  the 
North  Carolina  troops  in  the  army;  but  Colonel  Barn- 
well  accepted  the  terms  offered,  and  allowed  the  In- 
dians to  march  out  of  the  fort  with  their  arms  and 
equipments.  Then  his  men  took  charge  of  the  deserted 
fort. 

Soon  after  this  the  South  Carolina  Indians  committed 
some  outrage  against  the  Tuscaroras,  who  again  flew 
to  arms,  and  declared  that  they  would  not  leave  their 
homes.  They  said  that  they  would  die  rather  than  give 
up  their  hunting  grounds  to  the  palefaces. 


4:0  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  NAHUCKE. 

Colonel  Barnwell  had  to  return  to  South  Carolina  to 
recover  from  the  wound  he  had  received  in  the  fight  at 
Fort  Barnwell.  Most  of  the  Indians  that  were  in  his 
party  returned  to  South  Carolina  with  him.  Only  a  few 
remained;  and  they  had  all  they  could  do  to  restrain 
the  cruel  Tuscaroras,  who  had  broken  their  promise  to 
leave  the  country  and  go  north. 

Governor  Hyde  died  about  this  time,  and  Colonel 
Thomas  Pollock  was  elected  to  fill  the  place  of  gover- 
nor. He  sent  to  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  for  help, 
as  Governor  Hyde  had  done  the  year  before.  South 
Carolina  was  again  the  one  to  answer  first.  Governor 
Craven,  of  that  State,  sent  G  lonel  James  Moore  with  a 
large  force  of  friendly  Indians  and  a  few  whites  to  help 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  against  the  Tuscaroras. 
This  force  came  into  North  Carolina  in  the  latter  part 
of  November,  1712.  They  had  to  remain  in  camp  all  the 
winter  on  account  of  the  bad  weather. 

Late  in  February  they  set  out  for  the  Indian  country, 
and  reached  there  about  the  first  of  March.  This  was 
in  the  present  county  of  Greene. 


CAPTURE    OF    FORT    NAHUCKE  41 

The  Indians  had  built  a  strong  fort  on  a  little  hill, 
and  had  gathered  there  all  the  wealth  of  the  Indian 
nation.  They  called  this  fort  Nahucke.  In  it  all  the  old 
men  and  women  were  gathered.  The  little  Indian  boys 
and  girls  were  also  there.  This  was  their  strongest 
fort,  and  this  was  the  place  where  they  expected  to 
make  their  most  stubborn  fight. 

Moore  came  in  sight  of  the  fort  early  in  March.  The 
Tuscaroras  knew  that  he  was  coming,  and  had  sent  out 
bodies  of  Indians  to  watch  his  movements.  These  In- 
dians had  retreated  ahead  of  him,  and  at  last  had  gone 
into  the  fort.  Colonel  Moore  halted  and  took  a  good 
look  at  the  Indian  stronghold.  It  seemed  a  stronghold 
indeed,  but  he  resolved  to  take  it.  He  ordered  his  men 
to  form  in  four  divisions,  so  that  the  fort  might  be  at- 
tacked on  four  sides  at  once. 

These  divisions  went  to  the  places  assigned  them, 
and  began  to  approach  the  fort  slowly.  The  Indians 
saw  what  the  whites  were  doing,  and  laughed  at  them. 
They  said  to  themselves:  "Do  the  palefaces  expect  to 
find  us  asleep  on  any  side?  We  can  see  them,  no  mat- 
ter how  they  come." 

Suddenly  Moore's  men  ran  towards  the  walls.  But 
the  Tuscaroras  were  watching,  and  let  fly  their  arrows, 
which  wounded  many  of  the  attacking  party,  and  the 


42  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

others  retreated.  Soon  they  made  another  charge,  but 
the  Indians  in  the  fort  again  repulsed  them. 

Colonel  Moore  now  concluded  to  rest  his  men.  They 
did  not  fight  again  for  several  days.  During  that  time 
the  Indians  in  the  fort  climbed  up  on  the  walls  and 
waved  their  plumes  at  those  outside,  and  asked  them 
if  they  did  not  want  to  come  in.  But  Moore's  men  said 
nothing  in  reply.  After  a  while  all  the  men  became 
anxious  to  attack  the  fort.  They  had  rested,  and  were 
now  ready  to  begin.  This  was  what  Colonel  Moore 
wanted.  He  thought  that  if  his  men  became  eager  for 
the  battle  they  would  fight  more  bravely. 

At  last  he  told  his  men  they  might  take  the  fort.  He 
formed  them  into  one  line,  and  led  them  against  the 
stronghold.  The  Indians  saw  them  coming,  and  thought 
they  could  easily  drive  them  back.  As  the  whites  and 
Indians  came  nearer,  the  Tuscaroras  leaped  over  the 
walls  and  met  their  enemies  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight. 
At  first  the  South  Carolina  Indians  were  beaten  back 
by  this  unexpected  charge.  But  they  soon  recovered 
themselves  and  stood  firm. 

The  Tuscaroras  then  retreated  to  the  fort,  but  soon 
made  another  wild  rush  upon  the  South  Carolinians. 
They  were  beaten  back  again.  They  became  desperate, 
and  with  a  loud  yell  ran  upon  their  enemies  and  fought 


CAPTURE    OF   FORT   NAHUCKE  43 

at  close  range.  Many  were  killed  on  both  sides.  The 
Tuscaroras  broke  through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  and 
fled.  They  did  not  look  back  to  see  if  they  were  being 
pursued,  but  ran  to  another  fort  they  had  built  about 
twenty  miles  away. 

Fort  Nahucke  was  taken.  Moore,  went  in  and  found 
about  eight  hundred  Indians  inside,  mostly  old  men, 
women  and  children.  All  of  these  were  given  to  the 
South  Carolina  Indians  to  reward  them  for  the  aid  they 
had  given  the  colony.  They  at  once  took  the  captives 
to  Charleston  and  sold  them  into  slavery. 

Soon  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Nahucke,  Colonel  Moore 
led  his  army  against  the  other  Indian  fort  to  which  the 
Tuscaroras  had  fled.  But  the  Indians  did  not  await  his 
arrival.  They  left  this  fort  and  fled  up  the  Roanoke 
river,  through  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  to 
New  York,  where  they  joined  the  Iroquois,  and  helped 
to  make  the  six  nations  in  that  State. 

Thus  all  the  Tuscaroras  left  North  Carolina  except 
Tom  Blunt  and  the  others  who  had  remained  friendly 
to  the  whites. 

i'ro-kwoi 


44  JJOBTH  CAROLINA  HISTOSY  STORIES 


KING  BLUNT 

In  the  Indian  war  that  followed  the  massacre  of  the 
white  people  in  1711,  Tom  Blunt  remained  friendly  to 
the  colonists.  He  was  a  Tuscarora  chief,  but  opposed 
Chief  Handcock  in  beginning  the  war  upon  the  settlers. 

As  soon  as  the  war  began  he  retired  to  his  own  vil- 
lage and  called  his  followers  around  him.  He  made 
them  a  speech,  in  which  he  advised  them  to  take  no 
part  in  the  war. 

"My  braves,"  said  he,  "you  will  be  asked  by  the  other 
chiefs  to  go  with  them  against  the  palefaces.  You 
should  tell  them  that  the  white  brothers  have  never 
done  you  any  harm,  and  that  you  do  not  want  to  kill 
them.  I  tell  you  that  a  great  calamity  will  come  to  you 
if  you  make  war  upon  the  palefaces.  I  beg  you  not  to 
do  it." 

That  speech  kept  a  part  of  the. tribe  from  joining  in 
the  war.  Blunt  and  his  followers  staid  in  their  tents 
and  kept  their  own  counsel.  They  would  not  help  the 
Indians,  but  they  also  refused  to  aid  the  settlers.  After 
the  war  had  been  going  on  for  some  time,  Colonel  Pol- 
lock tried  to  get  Blunt  to  join  the  white  people  against 
the  Tuscaroras.  He  used  all  the  persuasion  he  could 


KING    BLUNT  45 

and  made  several  promises,  but  the  Indian  chief  would 
not  consent  to  lift  his  hand  against  his  own  people. 

After  the  capture  of  Fort  Barnwell,  when  the  Indian 
cause  seemed  to  be  lost,  Colonel  Pollock  went  to  the 
Indian  village  himself  to  visit  Tom  Blunt.  There  they 
talked  over  the  matter  for  a  long  time. 

"The  Tuscaroras,"  said  Colonel  Pollock,  "are  doomed 
to  destruction.  Our  people  have  made  up  their  minds 
to  drive  them  from  the  land,  because  they  killed  our 
friends  in  cold  blood.  I  want  to  save  you  from  the  same 
fate.  Tom  Blunt  has  always  been  a  friend  to  the  pale- 
faces. He  does  not  want  to  be  an  enemy  to  the  white 
man." 

"Join  us  against  the  other  Indians,"  urged  Colonel 
Pollock,  "and  you  and  your  town  shall  be  saved,  and 
you  shall  be  made  king  of  all  the  tribes  that  remain  in 
the  country." 

"That  is  a  big  offer,"  said  the  chief;  "can  my  brother 
do  as  he  says?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  colonel,  "and  I'll  see  that  you  have  a 
large  hunting  ground  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Roanoke." 

Tom  Blunt  promised  that  he  would  join  the  whites 
against  the  Indians.  But  he  asked  that  he  be  allowed 
to  make  war  upon  the  Cores  and  Pungos  instead  of  the 
Tuscaroras.  "For,"  said  he,  "I  cannot  fight  my  own 


46  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

people,  but  I  will  destroy  the  Cores  and  the  Pungos,  for 
they  are  the  enemies  of  my  race." 

So  it  was  agreed  that  Blunt  and  his  followers  should 
march  against  those  tribes,  while  the  whites  should 
attack  the  Tuscaroras. 

Blunt  soon  had  everything  in  order,  and  set  out  with 
a  considerable  body  of  Indians  to  attack  the  hostile 
tribes  in  Beaufort  and  Hyde  counties.  He  was  rapid  in 
his  march,  and  came  up  with  them  near  the  shores  of 
Lake  Mattamuskeet.  The  Pungos  were  not  expecting 
an  attack.  They  were  having  a  great  frolic  over  a  mas- 
sacre they  had  just  made.  Tom  Blunt  and  his  Tusca- 
roras charged  upon  them,  killed  a  few,  and  put  the  rest 
to  flight.  Then  he  burned  their  village  and  hunted  the 
braves  in  the  swamps  until  he  had  killed  or  captured  a 
great  many.  The  others  begged  for  peace. 

Blunt  then  crossed  the  Pamlico  river  and  came  into 
the  country  of  the  Cores.  This  tribe  lived  in  what  are 
now  Pamlico  and  Carteret  counties.  They  were  not 
strong  in  numbers,  but  had  joined  with  the  Tuscaroras 
in  making  war  upon  the  settlers.  For  that  reason  Tom 
Blunt  was  sent  against  them.  Blunt  and  his  men 
fought  the  Cores  wherever  they  could  be  found.  Soon 
their  country  was  desolate  and  they  were  suing  for 


KING   BLUNT  47 

peace.    Then  Blunt  went  back  home.    He  had  carried 
out  his  part  of  the  contract. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Fort  Nahucke  was  cap- 
tured. The  war  was  nearly  over,  and  Blunt  was  ex- 
pecting his  reward.  Colonel  Pollock  sent  some  men  to 
measure  off  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  Roanoke  for  the 
friendly  Indians.  This  was  given  to  Tom  Blunt  and  his 
followers.  The  other  Indians  that  still  remained  were 
also  allowed  to  go  there  and  make  homes  for  them- 
selves. 

Governor  Pollock  and  the  council  gave  to  Tom  Blunt 
the  title  of  king;  and  he  was  called  King  Blunt  by  both 
the  Indians  and  the  white  people.  For  many  years 
King  Blunt  ruled  in  the  Indian  country.  He  was  al- 
ways a  steadfast  friend  of  the  settlers.  Through  him 
peace  wras  kept  between  the  white  people  and  the  In- 
dians in  North  Carolina.  After  his  death  the  Indians 
became  dissatisfied  with  their  homes  on  the  Roanoke. 
So  they  sold  them  to  the  settlers,  and  went  to  join  their 
brethren  around  the  Great  Lakes.  Thus  the  last  of  the 
Tuscaroras  left  North  Carolina. 


BOOK  Ul 


"Maynard   was   the   better   swordsman  and   soon  ran   Blackbeard 
through  and   through."    Page   13,   Book  HI. 


North  Carolina  History  Stories 


THE  CAROLINA  PIRATE 

Men  who  rob  people  on  the  sea  are  called  pirates. 
Those  who  do  the  same  thing  on  land  are  called  rob- 
bers. 

About  two  hundred  years  ago  pirates  lived  on  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina.  This  State  was  then  a  colony 
of  England.  Many  of  these  pirates  had  large  ships, 
equipped  with  cannon  and  other  weapons  for  fighting. 

Sometimes  the  pirates  would  seize  a  passing  ship,  kill 
all  the  people  on  board,  and  take  all  the  valuable  things 
they  had.  Then  they  would  throw  all  the  dead  bodies 
into  the  sea  and  send  the  ship  adrift  or  sink  it.  There 
was  no  safety  on  the  sea  for  travelers.  They  never 
knew  when  these  bad  jnen  would  attack  them. 

One  of  the  boldest  and  most  cruel  of  these  pirates 
was  Edward  Teach.  He  wore  a  long  black  beard,  Avhich 
he  twisted  into  locks  and  wound  around  his  ears.  This 
made  him  look  frightful.  He  was  called  Blackbeard 
by  both  his  friends  and  his  enemies. 
7  (7) 


8  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

When  Blackbeard  was  going  into  battle  he  would 
fasten  lighted  tapers  to  his  hat  and  ears  in  order  to 
frighten  his  enemies.  His  followers  feared  him,  and 
did  his  bidding  without  hesitation.  He  had  a  very  high 
temper,  and  no  one  dared  to  oppose  him. 

For  many  years  Teach  had  been  a  pirate  in  the  West 
Indies.  He  gained  a  considerable  fortune  by  his  rob- 
beries, and  then  gave  up  his  wicked  ways.  He  came  to 
North  Carolina  and  bought  a  farm  near  Bath,  in  Beau- 
fort county.  There  he  settled  down  to  enjoy  his  money. 
Why  he  came  nobody  ever  knew.  It  was  not  long  after- 
wards that  he  married  his  thirteenth  wife.  It  is  not 
known  what  he  had  done  with  the  other  twelve.  He 
became  a  farmer,  and  seemed  to  have  given  up  his  old 
habits  entirely. 

One  d~y  Blackbeard  was  at  Bath  and  bought  a  ship. 
He  manned  it  with  some  of  his  old  followers,  who  had 
been  living  near  the  town.  He  said  that  he  was  going 
to  the  West  Indies  to  trade,  and  would  return  in  a  few 
months.  When  he  came  back,  he  towed  into  the  har- 
|t)or  of  Bath  a  large  French  vessel,  loaded  with  sugar 
and  cocoa.  He  said  that  he  had  found  the  vessel  aban- 
doned at  sea.  No  one  believed  this  story.  Every  one 
thought  that  he  had  captured  the  ship  and  taken  it  as 
his  own,  after  killing  all  the  crew. 


THE    CAROLINA    PIRATE  9 

Teach  began  to  sell  the  cargo.  He  also  gave  away 
much  of  it.  He  sent  several  barrels  of  sugar  to  Gover- 
nor Eden  and  some  cocoa  to  Judge  Knight.  These  men 
were  afterwards  accused  of  taking  bribes,  or  hush 
money,  from  the  pirate;  for  it  soon  became  evident  that 
he  had  again  become  a  pirate. 

Soon  after  this  he  put  to  sea  with  his  band  of  pirates, 
and  for  many  years  was  a  terror  to  merchants  and  sea- 
men along  the  coast  of  the  southern  colonies.  His  fleet 
was  made  up  of  six  fast  sailing  vessels,  each  one  armed 
with  cannon  and  manned  by  bloodthirsty  seamen. 

At  one  time  Blackbeard  captured  a  vessel  off  the 
coast  of  South  Carolina.  Samuel  Wragg,  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  South  Carolina,  was  on  board  He 
was  robbed  of  all  the  money  he  had,  and,  as  he  was  a 
rich  man,  they  did  not  kill  him,  but  held  him  for  ran- 
som. Many  of  the  pirates  were  sick  at  the  time,  and 
Blackbeard  wanted  medicine  for  them.  So  he  sent  four 
of  his  men  to  Charleston  to  demand  the  medic/.r  3.  They 
told  Governor  Johnson  that  Wragg  was  in  i  '.eir  hands, 
and  that  his  head  would  be  sent  to  the  governor  the 
next  morning  by  breakfast  time  if  he  did  not  send  the 
medicine.  Governor  Johnson  did  not  wane  Wragg's 
head  for  breakfast,  so  he  sent  the  medicine  s.nd  saved 
the  prisoner's  life. 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

Blackboard  did  many  other  bold  and  daring  things. 
His  fleet  blockaded  all  of  the  southern  ports,  and  kept 
the  people  in  a  state  of  alarm.  His  headquarters  were 
on  the  Island  of  Providence,  in  the  Bahamas.  From 
that  place  the  pirates  scoured  the  sea  in  every  direction, 
and  brought  much  booty  back  with  them. 

This  went  on  for  a  number  of  years.  The  people  were 
getting  very  tired  of  having  their  ships  taken  and  their 
sailors  killed.  They  could  stand  these  things  no  longer, 
so  they  sent  to  England  for  help. 

At  last  a  strong  fleet  was  sent  out  against  these  sea 
robbers.  It  was  commanded  by  Captain  Woods  Rogers. 
He  was  a  good  sailor,  and  knew  how  to  fight  pirates. 
He  found  out  their  hiding  place  and  sailed  there  at 
once.  As  soon  as  he  came  to  the  island,  he  surrounded 
it  with  his  fleet.  The  pirates  saw  that  they  were  caught. 
Captain  Rogers  gave  them  the  choice  of  surrendering, 
or  of  being  shot  to  pieces.  They  decided  to  surrender. 

Blackboard  was  not  there.  He  was  somewhere  on 
the  sea,  carrying  on  robbery  and  murder.  Soon  he  and 
the  others  that  escaped  Captain  Rogers  came  to  North 
Carolina  and  established  headquarters  in  Pamlico 
Sound,  near  Bath.  His  flagship  was  called  Queen  Anne's 
Revenge.  It  carried  forty  cannon  and  had  a  crew  of  one 


THE   CAROLINA   PIRATE  11 

hundred  men.  He  had  five  other  ships  that  hovered 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  river. 

Blackbeard  himself  staid  in  and  around  Pamlico 
Sound.  All  trade  between  North  Carolina  and  other 
countries  was  cut  off;  for  the  pirates  would  capture  all 
vessels  either  coming  in  or  going  out.  It  was  a  bad 
state  of  affairs.  People  were  afraid  to  send  off  their 
goods,  or  even  to  travel.  They  were  almost  wholly  shut 
out  from  the  world. 

After  a  while  they  made  up  their  minds  to  get  rid  of 
this  pirate  who  was  troubling  them  so  much.  So  they 
sent  a  messenger  to  Captain  Ellis  Brand,  who  com- 
manded the  English  fleet  at  Hampton  Roads,  to  ask  aid. 
Captain  Brand  was  glad  to  find  out  where  Blackbeard 
was.  He  sent  Lieutenant  Maynard  with  a  strong  force 
to  capture  the  pirates  or  destroy  them. 

Blackbeard  soon  learned  that  Maynard  was  coming. 
He  did  not  try  to  get  away.  He  thought  himself  able 
to  meet  any  force  that  might  come.  He  remained  near 
Ocracoke  and  waited  for  Maynard. 

Maynard  left  the  James  river,  in  Virginia,  as  soon  as 

* 

he  received  orders  from  Captain  Brand,  and  sailed  di- 
rectly for  Ocracoke.  He  reached  the  inlet  after  a  voy- 
age of  a  few  days.  There  he  halted  to  rest  his  men  and 
prepare  for  a  fight  with  the  pirates.  He  expected  to 


12  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

find  Blackbeard  just  across  the  bar.  He  was  not  mis- 
taken; for  the  pirates  were  waiting  for  him. 

Lieutenant  Maynard  was  a  brave  man  and  a  good 
fighter.  He  was  also  very  strong.  He  was  a  good  match 
for  Blackbeard,  and  was  anxious  to  meet  the  chief  of 
the  pirates  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight. 

After  he  had  refitted  and  put  everything  in  order,  he 
sailed  across  the  bar  into  the  sound.  There  before  him 
was  the  big  ship  of  the  pirates.  He  was  very  glad  to  see 
it.  Now  he  would  end  the  career  of  this  bad  man  and 
free  the  people.  He  turned  his  ship  toward  the  pirates 
and  advanced  rapidly  upon  them.  Blackbeard  was 
ready,  and  gave  his  enemy  a  broadside.  Many  of  May- 
nard's  men  were  swept  overboard  by  the  first  fire.  But 
he  continued  to  advance,  and  would  have  grappled  with 
the  pirate  but  for  an  unfortunate  mishap. 

His  vessel  ran  aground  and  stuck  fast.  Great  fear 
seized  the  men,  and  it  looked  as  if  all  would  be  lost. 
Blackbeard  continued  to  fire  upon  the  stranded  ship 
with  all  his  guns.  Twenty  of  Maynard's  men  were 
killed,  and  the  fire  from  the  pirate's  ship  did  not 
slacken.  Then  Maynard  thought  that  he  would  try  a 
trick.  His  vessel  could  not  go  to  the  pirates,  so  he 
would  make  them  come  to  him.  He  ordered  all  his  me» 


THE   CAROLINA  PIRATE 


13 


to  go  down  into  the  hold  of  the  vessel.  No  one  was  left 
on  the  deck  but  the  dead  and  the  dying. 

Blackbeard  thought  that  all  of  Maynard's  men  were 
either  killed  or  wounded,  and  moved  his  ship  up  along- 
side to  take  possession.  Blackbeard  and  twenty  of  his 
men  leaped  aboard  Maynard's  ship.  Instantly  they 
were  met  by  twenty  of  Maynard's  men,  who  rushed  up 
from  below  with  the  lieutenant  at  their  head.  The 
pirates  were  taken  completely  by  surprise,  and  stag- 
gered backward. 

They  quickly  recovered  themselves  and  the  battle 
began.  Every  one  knew  that  it  was  to  be  a  fight  to  the 
*finish.  There  could  be  no  such  thing  as  a  drawn  battle. 
One  side  or  the  other  must  win,  and  woe  to  the  con- 
quered! 

Each  man  picked  out  his  foe,  and  the  battle  became 
fierce.  Blackbeard  hunted  for  Maynard,  and  the  lieu- 
tenant met  him.  They  fired  their  pistols  at  each  other 
and  drew  their  swords.  They  rushed  together  and 
fought  hand-to-hand.  Maynard  was  -the  better  swords- 
man and  soon  ran  Blackbeard  through  and  through. 
The  pirate  fell  dead.  At  once  all  the  other  pirates  sur- 
rendered. Maynard  cut  off  Blackbeard's  head,  put  it 
on  the  bow  of  his  ship,  and  sailed  away  with  his  prison- 
ers. 


14  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

Later  all  of  the  captured  pirates  were  hanged.  No 
doubt  they  deserved  it.  The  people  of  North  Carolina 
were  very  grateful  to  Lieutenant  Maynard  for  putting 
an  end  to  Blackbeard's  life.  * 


DANIEL  BOONB  15 


DANIEL  BOONE 

Daniel  Boone  was  a  great  hunter.  He  lived  in  the 
mountains  on  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin  river.  No  man 
in  all  the  country  could  handle  a  gun  as  he  could. 
Whenever  he  pointed  a  gun  at  a  squirrel,  poor  bunny 
knew  that  death  was  near.  The  bears  and  the  deer 
knew  his  step,  and  ran  for  their  lives  whenever  he  was 
near. 

Long  before  the  Revolution,  his  father  came  with  his 
family  from  Pennsylvania  to  North  Carolina  to  live. 
He  bought  some  land  in  Wilkes  county,  and  built  his 
home.  Daniel  helped  to  cut  down  the  trees  and  clear 
up  the  fields.  Daniel's  father  ploughed  the  land,  and 
planted  corn  and  wheat.  Soon  there  was  a  good  farm 
cleared  up  in  the  forest.  On  it  Daniel  lived  with  his 
father  and  mother.  He  learned  while  a  boy  to  handle  a 
gun,  and  often  brought  back  meat  enough  from  the 
woods  to  last  for  weeks.  Sometimes  he  would  take 
long  hunting  trips  and  be  gone  for  quite  a  while.  After 
a  time  he  married  and  had  a  home  of  his  own. 

Not  many  years  passed  before  other  people  began  to 
come  into  the  Yadkin  country  to  live.  Land  was  cleared 
up  all  around  Boone's  house,  and  here  and  there  over 


16  NOETH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

the  hills  houses  could  be  seen  which  the  newcomers  had 
built.  It  was  beginning  to  look  like  the  place  the 
Boone's  had  left  in  Pennsylvania.  Daniel  did  not  like 
for  so  many  people  to  be  living  near  him.  He  said  he 
wanted  "elbow  room." 

"If  these  people  keep  coming,"  said  he,  "soon  there 
will  not  be  a  bear  in  all  this  country." 

He  thought  more  about  bears  than  he  did  about  peo- 
ple. He  soon  became  restless,  and  went  off  on  a  long- 
hunt  across  the  mountains  into  what  is  now  the  State 
of  Tennessee.  Two  or  three  backwoodsmen  went  along 
with  him.  That  was  in  1760,  while  the  French  and 
Indians  were  fighting  the  English  colonies. 

Boone  and  his  companions  crossed  the  Great  Smokies 
and  hunted  in  the  valley  of  the  Holston  river.  They 
killed  a  great  many  deer,  and  now  and  then  other  game 
was  brought  down.  They  had  some  interesting  adven- 
tures with  the  Indians,  and  also  some  exciting  chases 
after  bears. 

One  day,  as  they  were  passing  along  a  creek  in  Wash- 
ington county,  Boone  saw  some  bear  tracks.  They  had 
just  been  made,  and  he  knew  that  the  animals  could 
not  be  far  away.  He  at  once  followed  in  the  direction 
the  bears  had  gone.  He  did  this  cautiously,  to  keep  from 
scaring  the  brutes.  Very  soon  he  came  in  sight  of  them. 


DANIEL  BOONE  17 

There  were  three,  two  old  ones  and  a  young  one.  They 
were  walking  slowly  along  through  the  woods0 

Boone  crept  up  and  shot  one  of  the  old  ones  dead. 
The  other  old  one  saw  him  and  ran  directly  toward  him. 
Boone  fired  at  it,  but,  strange  to  say,  the  animal  kept 
coming.  It  was  a  bear  of  great  size,  and  Boone  did  not 
wish  to  come  to  a  hand-to-hand  fight.  He  had  no  time 
to  reload  his  gun,  so  he  looked  this  way  and  that  for  a 
chance  to  escape. 

Near  by  was  a  large  tree  with  branches  hanging 
down.  He  ran  to  this  and  climbed  up  to  the  first  limbs. 
Bruin  was  a  climber,  too,  and  began  to  follow  up  the 
tree.  Boone  made  his  way  to  the  top  of  the  tree.  The 
bear  followed,  going  from  limb  to  limb. 

When  Boone  got  up  as  high  as  he  could,  he  looked 
down  to  see  where  the  bear  was.  He  saw  Bruin  coming 
up  as  fast  as  he  could.  Boone  did  not  know  what  to  do. 
The  bear  would  be  up  to  him  in  less  than  a  minute,  and 
there  was  no  time  to  load  the  gun.  Boone  pulled  out 
the  ramrod  of  the  gun,  and  when  the  bear  came  in  reach 
Boone  whacked  him  over  the  nose  with  it.  Bruin 
whined  with  pain  and  backed  clown  the  tree  out  of 
Boone's  reach.  Then  he  tried  again  to  get  to  Boone; 
but  when  he  came  close  enough,  down  came  the  ramrod 


18  NORTH   CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

again  upon  his  nose,  harder  than  before.  The  bear 
roared  with  pain. 

The  bear  then  went  down  out  of  reach  and  seemed  to 
be  studying  what  next  to  do.  Boone  used  this  time  to 
load  his  gun.  Then  he  took  good  aim  and  shot  the  bear 
in  the  head.  It  was  a  good  shot,  and  Bruin  began  to 
go  down  the  tree.  He  was  badly  wounded  and  bleeding 
freely.  Boone  loaded  again  and  shot  the  bear  a  second 
time.  This  shot  was  fatal,  and  the  brute  fell  heavily  to 
the  ground.  Then  Boone  came  down  the  tree,  reach- 
ing the  ground  just  as  his  companions  came  up. 

"Ah!  Boone,"  said  one  of  them,  "who  was  up  the  tree, 
you  or  the  bear?" 

"The  bear,"  answered  Boone;  and  that  was  all  he 
ever  told  them  about  his  adventure  with  the  bear.  He 
then  cut  these  words  in  the  bark  of  the  tree:  "D.  Boone 
killd  a  bar  on  tree  in  the  year  1760."  It  is  said  that  the 
tree  is  still  standing  and  that  these  words  can  be  seen 
on  it.  While  his  spelling  might  have  been  better,  his 
shooting  could  not  be  beaten. 

Shortly  after  that  the  huntsmen  returned  to  the 
banks  of  the  Yadkin;  but  Boone  was  restless  in  his  old 
home  and  wanted  to  get  out  farther  into  the  forest.  He 
wanted  still  more  "elbow  room." 

Nine  years  later  Boone  sold  his  home  in  Wilkes 


DANIEL  BOONE  19 

county,  and  went  into  Kentucky  to  make  another  home. 
That  State  was  then  owned  entirely  by  the  Indians. 
They  called  it  Kaintuckee,  "the  Dark  and  Bloody 
Ground,"  for  the  Indians  were  constantly  fighting  one 
another  there,  and  much  blood  was  shed.  Five  other 
men  went  with  Boone.  Their  names  were  John  Stuart, 
Joseph  Holden,  James  Moncey,  William  Cool,  and  John 
Findly.  They  were  all  old  hunters.  On  the  way  they 
found  game  enough  to  satisfy  their  needs,  and  they 
had  many  adventures  with  the  Indians. 

In  order  to  get  to  the  new  country  easily,  they  had  to 
open  a  road  across  the  mountains.  That  took  a  long 
time.  Many  dangers  befell  them,  but  they  finally  com- 
pleted it. 

The  Indians  troubled  them  a  good  deal  with  their 
tricks,  but  Boone  was  more  than  a  match  for  them. 
Once  while  they  were  at  work  they  heard  a  wild  turkey 
gobble  near  them.  One  of  the  men  told  Boone  to  go 
out  and  kill  the  turkey  for  dinner. 

"Not  much!"  said  Boone;  "that  turkey  is  not  the  right 
kind.  It  is  an  Indian  trying  to  get  a  chance  to  put  a 
ball  through  my  head." 

Another  time  they  heard  some  owls  hooting  in  the 
woods  near  by.  They  were  keeping  up  a  big  racket  as 
if  they  were  much  excited. 


20  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

"Let  us  go  and  see  what  those  owls  have  found,"  said 
Findly.  "They  are  keeping  up  such  a  noise  that  I  think 
they  have  found  a  gang  of  turkeys." 

"Don't  you  know  that  they  are  not  owls?"  asked 
Boone.  "Notice  where  the  sound  comes  from.  Owls 
do  not  sit  on  the  ground." 

Sure  enough,  the  sounds  came  from  the  ground,  and 
they  knew  that  Indians  were  making  them.  Then  one 
of  the  hunters  crept  slowly  along  toward  the  place 
where  the  sounds  came  from.  He  was  keener  eyed 
than  the  Indians,  and  soon  saw  what  looked  like  a 
stump  in  the  woods.  He  fired  at  the  stump  and  an 
Indian  fell  over  with  a  groan.  He  had  killed  a  red  man. 

When  the  road  was  finished,  the  hunters  went  back 
for  their  families.  There  were  about  thirty  persons  in 
the  party  that  left  North  Carolina  for  Kentucky.  Boone 
was  the  leader.  He  led  them  to  a  place  that  was  suit- 
able for  a  settlement  and  halted.  There  they  built 
houses  and  a  fort  to  protect  themselves  from  the  In- 
dians. This  place  they  called  Boonesboro.  Soon  other 
settlers  came,  and  the  town  grew  to  be  quite  large. 

One  day  Boone's  daughter  and  two  other  girls  were 
out  in  a  canoe  near  the  town.  Suddenly  some  Indians 
came,  swam  out  in  the  wrater  to  the  boat,  and  seized  the 
girls.  They  started  with  them  to  a  distant  village. 


DANIEL  BOONE  21 

As  they  went  along  through  the  woods,  one  of  the 
girls  broke  off  twigs  and  dropped  them  to  let  Boone 
know  which  way  they  were  going.  An  Indian  saw  her 
doing  this,  and  came  to  her  with  his  tomahawk  raised. 
He  told  her  that  he  would  kill  her  if  she  did  it  again. 
Then  she  secretly  tore  off  pieces  of  dress  and  dropped 
them  along  the  way. 

Boone  and  others  quickly  followed  the  Indians.  They 
could  follow  very  well  by  the  bits  of  dress.  In  a  short 
while  they  came  up  close  to  the  red  men.  It  was  at 
night,  and  they  were  sitting  around  a  fire.  Boone  and 
his  men  crept  up  and  fired  at  the  Indians.  The  redskins 
fled,  leaving  the  girls  and  two  dead  Indians  behind. 
Then  the  girls  were  carried  back  to  their  homes,  which 
they  were  glad  to  see  once  more. 

At  another  time  Boone  was  out  in  the  woods  alone. 
The  Indians  came  suddenly  upon  him  and  took  him  pris- 
oner. They  liked  him  because  he  was  such  a  good 
marksman.  They  adopted  him  as  one  of  their  tribe, 
and  made  him  paint  his  face  and  wear  feathers.  Boone 
seemed  to  be  satisfied,  but  all  the  time  he  was  looking 
for  a  good  chance  to  get  away. 

Soon  he  had  a  chance  and  went  back  home.  The  In- 
dians liked  him  so  much  that  they  could  not  give  him 
up.  So  they  began  to  search  for  him.  After  a  time 


22  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

they  found  him  in  a  tobacco  barn,  working  on  his  to- 
bacco. They  pointed  their  guns  at  him  and  told  him  to 
surrender. 

"Now,  man  of  the  long  shot,"  said  one  of  them,  "we've 
got  you.  No  more  can  you  get  away." 

"How  are  you?"  said  Boone  pleasantly.  "Have  my 
red  brothers  come  to  see  me?  Wait  a  minute,  and* I 
will  give  you  some  good  tobacco." 

He  gathered  two  or  three  large  leaves  in  his  hands, 
crushed  them  to  powder,  and  dashed  the  fine  tobacco 
dust  into  the  eyes  and  mouths  of  the  Indians.  There 
was  a  great  coughing  and  sneezing  for  some  time,  and 
while  that  was  going  on  Boone  made  his  escape.  The 
Indians  could  not  help  from  laughing  at  Boone's  trick. 
They  never  got  hold  of  him  again. 

When  more  people  came  into  Boonesboro  to  live, 
Boone  got  restless  again.  He  did  not  want  to  live  in  a 
city.  So  he  moved  out  toward  the  west;  and  as  people 
followed,  he  went  farther  and  farther  into  the  wilder- 
ness. Finally  he  moved  across  the  Mississippi  river 
into  Missouri.  There  he  had  "elbow  room"  enough  to 
last  a  long  time. 

When  he  died  his  body  was  brought  to  Frankfort, 
Kentucky,  and  buried.  It  is  fitting  that  his  grave 
should  be  in  the  capital  of  the  State  which  he  founded. 


TRYON   AND   THE    REGULATORS  23 

TRYON  AND  THE  REGULATORS 

Just  before  the  Revolutionary  War  there  was  in  the 
central  part  of  the  colony  a  large  number  of  men  called 
Regulators.  They  said  that  the  people  were  taxed  too 
much;  that  their  liberties  had  been  taken  away  from 
them,  and  that  they  ought  to  resist  such  unjust  laws. 
So  they  organized,  chose  leaders,  and  prepared  to  regu- 
late, or  put  in  good  order,  their  own  affairs.  They  de- 
clared that  they  would  fight  rather  than  be  robbed  any 
longer  by  the  government. 

Governor  Tryon  was  the  king's  ruler  in  North  Caro- 
lina at  the  time.  He  heard  of  the  action  of  the  Regula- 
tors, but  laughed  at  it.  With  an  oath  he  said  that  he 
would  teach  them  a  lesson  in  good  manners. 

"  The  villains,"  said  he,  "  want  a  good  thing  without 
having  to  pay  anything  for  it.  How  do  they  expect  a 
good  government  without  paying  taxes?" 

Tryon  sent  all  over  the  colony  for  men  to  come  and 
help  him.  He  got  eleven  hundred  men  who  said  they 
would  help  him  whip  the  Regulators.  These  men  were 
well  armed  and  brave.  Tryon  led  them  against  the 
Regulators.  Newbern  was  at  that  time  the  capital  of 
the  colony.  He  had  to  make  a  long  march  to  Alamance 

county,  where  the  Regulators  were.    It  took  him  about 
8 


24  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY  STORIES 

two  weeks  to  make  the  trip.  When  he  got  to  Alamance 
creek  he  found  that  the  Regulators  were  not  far  off. 
While  waiting  there  Herman  Husbands,  the  leader  of 
the  Regulators,  wrote  him  a  letter.  In  it  he  asked 
Governor  Tryon  if  he  would  lighten  their  burdens. 

"Curse  your  burdens,"  answered  the  governor.  "You 
must  lay  down  your  arms,  obey  the  laws  of  your  king, 
and  return  to  your  homes." 

Next  day  he  marched  toward  the  camp  of  the  Regu- 
lators and  halted  in  half  a  mile  of  them.  There  he 
waited  to  see  if  they  had  any  answer  to  make  him.  The 
Regulators  marched  up  to  within  three  hundred  yards 
of  the  king's  soldiers  and  halted.  The  governor  sent  to 
them  a  justice  of  the  peace  to  warn  them  against  blood- 
shed. But  the  Regulators  answered  with  loud  shouts 
of  "fight."  Tryon  saw  that  they  meant  business;  so  he 
got  his  men  in  line  and  prepared  for  battle. 

While  the  two  armies  stood  facing  each  other,  Robert 
Thompson,  a  prisoner  in  Tryon's  hands,  tried  to  escape 
to  the  Regulators.  Governor  Tryon  fired  upon  the  poor 
fellow  and  killed  him  almost-  instantly.  That  was  in 
sight  of  the  Regulators,  who  at  once  fired  upon  the  sol- 
diers of  the  governor.  Then  the  governor  ordered  his 
men  to  fire,  but  they  did  not  obey  the  order. 

"Fire  upon  the  rascals,"  repeated  Tryon.  "Are  you 
afraid  of  them?  Fire  upon  them  or  upon  me." 


TRYON   AND   THE    REGULATORS  25 

The  order  was  then  obeyed.  The  battle  raged  fiercely 
for  half  an  hour.  Tryon  brought  up  his  cannon  and 
opened  upon  the  Regulators.  They  could  not  stand 
grapeshot,  and  fled  to  the  woods.  From  behind  trees 
.they  kept  up  the  fight  for  two  hours.  Governor  Tryon, 
at  the  head  of  his  troops,  charged  into  the  woods  and 
put  them  to  flight.  Many  were  left  dead  on  the  field. 
Tryon's  loss  was  about  seventy  killed  and  wounded, 
while  the  Regulators  lost  over  one  hundred. 

This  was  the  first  resistance  to  British  rule  that  was 
made  in  America.  It  was  about  five  years  before  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution. 

After  the  battle  Tryon  spent  some  time  in  hunting 
down  the  Regulators  that  were  engaged  in  the  battle. 
Many  were  captured.  Some  were  hanged  and  many 
were  put  into  prison  and  kept  there  for  a  long  time. 
Hundreds  were  forced  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would 
never  again  take  up  arms  against  the  British  govern- 
ment. 

Herman  Husbands  fled  from  the  State.  He  went  to 
Pennsylvania  to  live,  and  years  afterwards  was  in  the 
"Whiskey  Rebellion"  in  that  State.  Governor  Tryon, 
shortly  after  the  battle,  was  appointed  Governor  of 
New  York.  He  left  in  July,  1771,  to  begin  his  new 
duties. 


26  NORTH   CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 


BRITISH  STAMPS  AT  WILMINGTON 

In  1765  the  Parliament  of  England  made  a  law 
called  the  Stamp  Act.  This  law  required  the  people  in 
America  to  buy  stamps  from  England  to  use  for  all 
checks,  notes,  deeds,  newspapers  and  the  like.  Every- 
body who  used  such  things  had  to  buy  these  stamps, 
because  no  business  was  allowed  to  be  done  without 
them.  England  wanted  to  raise  money  to  carry  on 
war,  and  thought  this  would  be  a  good  way  to  get  it. 

But  the  people  in  America  did  not  like  to  be  taxed 
this  way,  as  they  had  not  been  asked  about  the  matter, 
and  were  not  allowed  to  Tote  on  the  question.  No 
colony  in  America  was  allowed  to  have  a  legislator 
in  Parliament.  So  the  colonists  said  they  would  not 
buy  the  stamps.  They  would  go  along  and  do  as  they 
had  been  doing,  and  let  the  stamps  alone.  But  Eng- 
land sent  the  stamps  over  and  appointed  men  to  sell 
them.  Then  the  king  had  to  appoint  men  to  make  the 
people  buy  them. 

This  made  the  colonists  angry.  People  in  North 
Carolina  said  they  would  not  use  the  stamps.  They 
said  they  would  quit  business  before  they  would  use 
them.  And  they  declared  that  no  stamp  seller  should 


BRITISH  STAMPS  AT  WILMINGTON  27 

stay  in  the  colony.  When  a  British  ship  reached  the 
Cape  Fear  with  the  stamps  on  board,  the  captain  was 
told  that  the  stamps  were  not  wanted.  He  saw  on  the 
shore  Colonels  Hugh  Waddell  and  John  Ashe  with  a 
large  number  of  men  to  keep  him  from  unloading;  so 
he  sailed  out  and  anchored  near  the  mouth  of  the  river 
to  see  what  would  happen. 

Shortly  before  that,  James  Houston  had  been  ap- 
pointed stamp  agent.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  he 
had  been  appointed,  a  large  number  of  men  called 
upon  him  and  urged  him  to  resign  his  position.  He 
did  this,  and  promised  that  he  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  stamps. 

Matters  went  on  for  some  time  without  further 
trouble.  After  a  while  two  merchant  vessels  from 
Philadelphia  came  in.  When  they  landed,  Colonel 
William  Dry,  the  collector,  found  that  the  clearance 
papers  had  no  stamps  on  them.  He  told  Captain  Lobb, 
of  the  British  vessel,  about  it;  and  the  captain  seized 
both  vessels  for  not  using  the  stamps. 

This  act  made  the  people  of  Wilmington  so  angry 
that  over  five  hundred  men  got  their  guns  to  drive  the 
British  vessels  from  the  harbor.  Hugh  Waddell  was 
at  their  head.  First  they  went  in  search  of  Colonel 
Dry,  and  made  him  give  up  the  papers  that  had  no 


28  KORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

stamps  upon  them.  Next  they  went  to  the  house  of 
Mr.  Pennington,  collector  of  the  port. 

"  We  have  come,"  said  Colonel  Waddell,  "  to  demand 
that  you  give  up  your  place  as  collector.  We  want  no 
man  in  office  who  favors  the  buying  of  British  stamps." 

Mr.  Pennington  made  some  excuses,  but  they  did  not 
satisfy  the  men  around  his  house,  and  he  was  forced 
to  resign. 

Next  day  Colonel  Waddell  led  his  regiment  of 
patriots  to  Brunswick  to  arrest  Captain  Lobb.  They 
were  determined  to  rid  the  colony  of  everybody  that 
had  anything  to  do  with  the  stamp  selling.  They  be- 
lieved that  their  rights  were  being  trampled  upon,  and 
they  were  terribly  in  earnest. 

Wh'en  they  reached  Brunswick  they  found  that 
Governor  Tryon  was  there  also.  He  had  come  for  the 
purpose  of  helping  Captain  Lobb.  He  had  all  the  guns 
in  Fort  Johnston  spiked  for  fear  that  the  patriots 
would  seize  the  fort  and  turn  the  guns  upon  the  British 
ships. 

Cornelius  Harnett  carried  a  letter  from  John  Ashe 
to  Governor  Tryon.  The  letter  told  the  governor  that 
the  patriots  were  not  after  him,  but  had  come  for 
Captain  Lobb.  Governor  Tryon  received  him  kindly, 
but  said  that  he  would  not  give  up  the  captain. 


BRITISH   STAMPS  AT   WILMINGTON  29 

"  Then  we  shall  come  and  take  him/'  said  Harnett. 
"  Governor,  we  have  nothing  against  you;  but  we  must 
have  this  man  who  has  interfered  with  our  business." 

Waddell  and  his  men  surrounded  the  house  which 
the  governor  was  in;  but  it  was  soon  found  out  that 
Lobb  had  made  his  escape,  and  was  then  on  board  the 
British  gunboat,  Viper.  But  the  British  ships  were 
without  food.  They  sent  a  small  boat  to  Wilmington 
to  buy  some.  This  boat  was  seized  and  not  allowed  to 
go  back.  So  the  British  were  entirely  at  the  mercy  of 
Colonel  Waddell  and  his  men,  as  they  could  get 
nothing  to  eat. 

Then  Governor  Tryon  sent  for  Hugh  Waddell  and 
John  Ashe.  They  came,  and  the  governor  asked  them 
what  they  were  contending  for. 

"  We  want  these  merchant  ships,  which  your  agents 
have  seized,  turned  loose,"  said  Waddell.  "  The  owners 
have  committed  no  wrong,  and  we  will  not  allow  them 
to  be  punished! " 

"And,"  said  Ashe,  "  this  Stamp  Act  will  be  resisted 
to  blood  and  death,  and  we  want  it  repealed! " 

"  I  shall  release  the  men  that  were  arrested,"  said 
Tryon;  "but  the  British  government  has  the  making 
or  the  unmaking  of  the  Stamp  Act." 

The  men  were  turned  loose,  and  Colonel  Waddell's 


30  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

men  went  home,  ready  to  resist  any  further  attempts 
to  sell  stamps. 

There  was  now  no  stamp  agent  in  the  colony,  nor 
could  anybody  be  found  to  take  the  office. 

Thus  it  happened  that  no  stamps  were  sold  in  North 
Carolina.  Soon  the  British  government  thought  that 
it  was  best  not  to  try  to  force  the  Americans  to  buy 
stamps,  and  the  law  was  repealed. 


THE    EDENTON    TEA    PAKTY  31 


THE  EDENTON  TEA  PARTY 

When  the  British  heard  that  the  Americans  would 
not  buy  the  stamps  that  had  been  sent  over,  they  be- 
came very  angry  about  it.  They  said  the  Americans 
were  stingy  and  rebellious,  and  that  they  should  be 
made  to  obey  the  laws.  But  that  did  not  help  to  sell 
the  stamps.  So  they  had  to  be  sent  back  to  England. 

As  the  Americans  would  not  buy  the  stamps,  the 
British  repealed  the  Stamp  Act  and  put  a  tax  upon  tea. 
They  thought  the  Americans  would  pay  the  tea  tax 
without  question;  for  they  supposed  that  the  patriots 
liked  tea  so  well  that  they  would  never  quit  drinking 
it,  although  it  was  taxed.  They  were  mistaken  in  that, 
also. 

Soon  after  the  law  was  made  for  taxing  tea,  the  news 
reached  North  Carolina.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  ex- 
citement in  many  places.  At  Edenton  everybody  be- 
came much  excited,  for  that  town  was  quite  a  tea 
market.  The  Americans  did  not  like  the  idea  of  paying 
such  taxes  to  England,  because  they  were  not  allowed 
the  right  to  vote  on  the  laws  that  taxed  them.  They 
were  not  represented  in  the  English  Parliament,  and 
the  cry  arose,  "No  taxation  without  representation." 


32  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

The  people  did  not  like  the  tax  half  so  well  as  they 
did  the  tea.  And  so  they  declared  that  they  would  not 
pay  the  tax  even  if  they  had  to  quit  drinking  tea.  That 
was  a  day  of  tea  parties,  too.  Every  one  drank  tea ;  and 
often  the  people  would  meet  at  a  neighbor's  house  and 
spend  the  evening  in  social  talk,  drinking  tea  and  play- 
ing games.  The  tea  party  was  a  pleasant  way  of  spend- 
ing an  evening. 

At  a  tea  party  each  guest  made  his  own  tea.  The 
leaves  of  the  tea  plant  were  brought  to  the  table,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  large  vessel  of  boiling  water  was 
brought.  Each  guest  put  a  certain  number  of  leaves  in 
a  cup,  poured  the  hot  water  over  them,  and  placed  the 
saucer  on  top  of  the  cup  to  let  the  leaves  steep  for 
a  while.  Then  the  tea  was  ready  for  drinking. 

The  tea  party  that  was  held  in  Edenton  on  October 
25, 1774,  was  quite  different.  No  tea  was  drunk  at  that 
party.  The  guests  did  not  go  there  to  drink  tea.  But  it 
was  one  of  the  most  famous  tea  parties  in  North  Caro- 
lina history.  It  same  about  in  this  way :  Not  long  after 
the  news  of  the  tea  tax  reached  Edenton  the  ladies  of 
the  town  said  that  they  would  quit  using  tea.  They 
appointed  a  meeting  place  to  talk  over  the  matter. 
Fifty-one  of  them  met  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
King.  As  the  town  of  Edenton  had  only  five  hundred 


THE    EDENTON    TEA    PARTY  33 

inhabitants,  it  is  evident  that  nearly  all  the  ladies  were 
present. 

Mrs.  Penelope  Barker  was  made  chairman  of  the 
•meeting.  She  made  a  talk,  saying  that  she  thought  the 
ladies  of  Edenton  ought  not  to  use  the  hateful  tea  any 
longer. 

"We  must  not  use  the  tea,"  said  Mrs.  Barker,  "as 
long  as  the  tax  is  on  ft.  I,  for  one,  will  never  use  it 
again,  unless  the  tax  is  removed." 

Then  the  speaking  began.  Nearly  all  of  the  ladies 
had  patriotic  speeches  to  make.  They  were  indignant 
that  England  should  dare  to  put  a  tax  upon  their  fa- 
vorite drink;  and  they  spoke  their  minds  freely. 

"My  tea  cups,"  said  Mrs.  Valentine,  "shall  never  hold 
any  more  of  the  vile  stuff,  unless  England  instantly 
removes  the  tax." 

"  This  tea  drinking  is  all  a  habit,  anyway,"  said  Miss 
Isabella  Johnston.  "A  drink  made  from  the  dried 
leaves  of  the  raspberry  vine  is  far  better  than  the  hate- 
ful tea  with  the  hateful  tax  upon  it." 

Mrs.  Hoskins,  Mrs.  King  and  others  declared  that 
anything  would  be  better  than  giving  up  their  liberties 
by  drinking  tea  with  a  tax  on  it. 

After  more  talk  of  this  kind,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  write  some  resolutions  on  the  subject.  The 


34  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

committee  brought  in  a  resolution  saying  that  the  la- 
dies of  Edenton  would  stop  using  tea,  or  wearing  any 
goods  made  in  England,  until  all  taxes  upon  them  had 
been  repealed.  All  the  ladies  signed  the  resolution  and' 
went  home  in  good  humor,  feeling  that  they  had  done 
their  duty  as  patriotic  dames. 

And  thus  it  happened  that  there  was  no  more  tea 
drinking  in  Edenton  for  a  long  time;  and  there  were  no 
more  tea  parties  until  after  the  Revolution  was  over. 


FIRST   SOUND  OF  LIBERTY'S   BELL  35 


FIRST  SOUND  OF  LIBERTY'S  BELL 

In  May,  1775,  a  number  of  men  met  in  Charlotte  to 
hold  a  county  convention.  Abraham  Alexander  was 
made  chairman.  John  Alexander  and  Ephraim  Brevard 
were  made  secretaries. 

These  men  had  met  for  the  purpose  of  attending  to 
some  business  which  concerned  their  county.  They 
knew  that  the  colonies  were  expecting  trouble  with 
England.  But  they  did  not  know  that  the  war  had  al- 
ready begun.  There  were  no  telegraph  wires  in  those 
days,  and  news  traveled  slowly. 

One  day,  while  they  were  busy  in  the  convention,  a 
man  on  horseback  rode  into  Charlotte  as  fast  as  he 
could  come.  The  place  was  then  a  village.  Everybody 
ran  out  into  the  street  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The 
man  was  from  Massachusetts,  and  he  brought  the  news 
of  the  battle  of  Lexington.  That  was  the  nineteenth 
of  May,  1775,  one  month  after  the  battle  was  fought. 

This  man  went  into  the  room  where  the  convention 
was  being  held.  He  told  them  how  the  British  had 
shot  some  Americans  at  Lexington. 

"The  war  has  begun,"  said  he.  "Some  of  our  men 
were  shot  down  while  standing  on  the  lawn  in  Lexing- 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

ton.  The  British  then  went  on  to  Concord  to  destroy 
our  powder  and  balls;  but  when  they  got  there  they 
found  our  men,  and  there  was  a  fight." 

"How  was  that?"  asked  many  excitedly.  "Did  the 
men  of  Massachusetts  dare  to  fight  with  the  British?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  the  man.  "Our  people  came  in 
from  all  over  the  country  and  shot  at  the  British  from 
behind  fences  and  trees.  The  redcoats  were  glad 
enough  to  get  away  from  there.  Our  men  chased  them 
back  to  Boston,  and  killed  a  number  of  them." 

"That  ends  British  rule  in  America,"  said  Brevard. 
"You  will  see  that  I  am  right." 

To  the  south  hurried  the  messenger  to  let  others 
know  of  what  had  taken  place.  The  convention  broke 
up,  for  the  news  had  created  intense  excitement.  The 
battle  was  on  everybody's  mind.  It  was  talked  about 
on  the  streets  and  in  the  homes. 

That  evening  when  the  convention  met  there  was 
still  much  excitement.  Men  were  whispering  to  each 
other.  Some  were  writing  rapidly,  and  all  were  talk- 
ing. Then  one  member  arose  and  made  a  motion  that  a 
committee  be  appointed  to  consider  what  should  be 
done  about  the  war  that  had  begun. 

"This  is  the  time  when  all  Americans  should  stand 
together,"  said  he.  "If  Massachusetts  has  been  at- 


FIRST   SOUND  OF  LIBERTY'S  BELL  37 

tacked,  that  means  a  blow  at  North  Carolina.  I,  for 
one,  am  in  favor  of  sending  help  to  our  brethren." 

The  committee  was  appointed  and  drew  up  resolu- 
tions. Ephraim  Brevard  wrote  the  resolutions,  and 
they  were  signed  by  every  member  of  the  convention. 
That  was  on  the  20th  of  May,  the  day  after  they  had 
heard  about  the  battle  of  Lexington.  In  these  resolu- 
tions North  Carolina  was  declared  to  be  free,  and  the 
men  who  signed  them  pledged  themselves  to  stand  by 
the  resolutions. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned  and  the  men  went  home. 
Their  neighbors  did  not  know  what  to  think  about  the 
step  which  had  been  taken.  Many  were  afraid  that 
England  would  send  soldiers  there  and  hang  all  of  the 
men  who  had  signed  the  paper.  Eleven  days  later 
they  met  in  Charlotte  again.  This  time  they  organized 
a  government  for  the  county  of  Mecklenburg,  which, 
according  to  their  previous  resolution,  was  now  inde- 
pendent of  England. 

"The  other  day  we  declared  our  independence  of 
England,"  said  Brevard.  "Now  we  must  set  up  a  gov- 
ernment of  our  own.  Governor  Martin,  the  king's  rep- 
resentative, has  fled  from  the  colony.  We  must  take 
charge  of  our  own  affairs  and  run  them  as  it  shall  suit 
us." 


38  NORTH   CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

Without  further  words  they  adopted  rules  for  the 
government  of  the  county.  This  was  the  first  act  in 
America  that  meant  separation  from  England.  At  all 
other  places  people  thought  that  the  colonies  would  get 
what  they  were  fighting  for  and  still  continue  to  belong 
to  the  mother  country.  But  in  North  Carolina  they  de- 
clared for  entire  freedom. 

These  resolutions  were  copied  and  read  all  over  the 
country.  They  helped  to  raise  the  courage  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. Soon  the  British  tried  to  come  into  North  Caro- 
lina, but  they  could  not  make  a  landing  at  Wilmington, 
and  had  to  go  on  to  some  other  place. 


SECOND   SOUND   OF   LIBERTY'S   BELL  6V 

SECOND  SOUND  OF  LIBERTY'S  BELL 

After  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence 
no  further  action  was  taken  for  nearly  a  year.  Patriots 
all  over  the  colony  were  talking  about  the  Declaration, 
and  saying  the  colony  ought  to  take  other  steps;  but  no 
one  did  anything  to  get  the  colony  to  act. 

Finally  Colonel  Samuel  Johnston,  about  the  first  of 
the  year  1776,  called  a  congress  to  meet  at  Halifax  in 
April.  This  meeting  took  place  on  the  fourth  of  that 
month.  Colonel  Johnston  was  elected  chairman.  The 
members  talked  about  declaring  the  colony  free.  Cor- 
nelius Harnett,  of  Wilmington,  was  particularly  bold 
in  what  he  said.  He  urged  the  other  members  to  take  a 
stand  for  freedom  from  England. 

"England  has  passed  bad  laws,"  said  he,  "and  we  are 
no  longer  obliged  to  obey  them.  I  give  my  vote  for 
liberty.  Let  others  do  what  they  may,  I  am  for  inde- 
pendence." 

"Can  we  afford  to  take  such  a  step  when  the  British 
are  at  our  doors?"  asked  a  member.  "You  all  know 
that  a  British  fleet  and  army  are  now  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Cape  Fear,  ready  to  land  and  destroy  our  property." 

"That  is  why  we  should  speak  for  independence," 
answered  Harnett.  "Let  us  show  these  tyrants  that  we 


40  NORTH   CAROLINA   HiSTOKY    STOKJliS 

are  not  afraid  of  tnem.  Let  us  pass  a  declaration  of  in- 
dependence, and  then  go  to  the  Cape  Fear  and  prevent 
their  landing.  We  can  drive  them  from  our  shores." 

Nearly  all  the  members  agreed  with  Harnett.  A 
committee  was  named  to  write  some  resolutions.  Har- 
nett was  made  chairman  of  the  committee.  He  wrote 
the  resolutions  and  read  them  to  the  congress  on  the 
12th  of  April.  These  resolutions  declared  that  the 
colony  ought  to  be  free.  They  also  instructed  the  dele- 
gates at  Philadelphia  to  vote  for  the  independence  of 
all  the  colonies. 

As  soon  as  Harnett  had  finished  reading,  the  mem- 
bers began  to  applaud,  and  cries  for  Harnett  and  inde- 
pendence were  heard  on  the  streets.  A  motion  was 
made  to  adopt  the  resolutions,  and  a  hundred  seconds 
to  it  were  made.  With  a  shout  the  motion  was  carried. 

People  on  the  streets  soon  found  out  what  was  being- 
done,  and  began  to  gather  in  crowds.  The  bells  rang 
out  for  independence.  The  old  town  was  ablaze  with 
excitement. 

News  of  this  heroic  act  was  sent  abroad.  It  raised 
the  spirits  of  the  Americans,  and  made  them  more  anx- 
ious to  meet  the  British.  Before  the  year  was  out  ten 
thousand  North  Carolina  soldiers  had  been  raised  to 
drive  the  British  from  the  colony. 


THE  FAIR  TORY  41 


There  was  a  beautiful  lady  living  in  Fayetteville  in 
1776,  who  aided  the  British  in  that  year  against  the 
patriots.  This  lady  was  Flora  McDonald,  a  Scotch 
woman,  who  had  corne  to  North  Carolina  in  1774.  She 
was  loved  by  the  Scotch  settlers  on  the  Cape  Fear,  and 
had  a  great  deal  of  influence  over  them. 

She  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  lived  there  until  the 
year  before  the  Revolution.  When  she  was  a  young 
woman  she  saved  the  life  of  Prince  Charles  after  he 
had  been  beaten  in  a  great  battle.  That  was  in  1745, 
when  Prince  Charles  was  trying  to  take  the  throne  of 
England  from  King  George  II. 

Flora  McDonald  believed  that  Prince  Charles  should 
be  king  instead  of  the  coarse  old  king  who  was  then  on 
the  throne.  She  got  all  of  her  kinsmen  and  friends  to 
join  Prince  Charles  in  making  war  on  the  English.  It 
was  a  short  contest.  At  first  the  Scots  were  successful, 
but  later  the  English  sent  a  powerful  army  into  Scot- 
land to  finish  the  war. 

Prince  Charles  had  a  fine  little  army,  but  they  were 
not  a  good  match  for  the  English.  The  two  armies  met 
at  Culloden.  The  Scotch  fought  bravely,  but  the  Eng- 


42  NOKTH   CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

lish  won  the  day.  The  battlefield  was  covered  with  the 
dead  and  wounded. 

Prince  Charles  was  in  the  battle,  and  barely  escaped 
being  killed.  He  fled  from  the  battlefield  pursued  by 
the  English.  He  narrowly  escaped  capture,  which 
would  have  meant  death  for  him,  and  succeeded  in  get- 
ting to  the  woods  and  hiding  himseli. 

After  staying  in  the  woods  for  some  days,  he  came 
out  and  went  to  the  house  of  Flora  McDonald.  He  was 
hungry  and  penniless.  He  was  received  with  kindness 
and  told  that  he  still  had  friends,  and  was  taken  and 
cared  for.  But  it  was  unsafe  for  him  to  remain  in  Scot- 
land. The  English  soldiers  were  looking  for  him  every- 
where. It  was  expected  that  they  would  come  and 
search  the  house  at  any  time.  So  he  had  to  get  away. 
How  to  escape  was  the  hard  thing  to  decide  upon.  He 
would  be  recognized  as  soon  as  seen,  and  then  his  head 
would  be  cut  off. 

His  friends  began  to  think  of  plans  to  get  him  to  a 
place  of  safety.  It  was  Flora  McDonald  who  thought 
of  the  plan  that  succeeded.  She  pretended  to  be  going 
to  a  little  island  on  the  coast  of  Scotland.  Prince 
Charles  was  disguised  as  a  lady's  waiting  maid,  and 
went  along  with  the  fair  lady.  They  passed  through 
crowds  of  people,  and  even  soldiers,  but  no  one  knew 


THE   FAIR  TORY  43 

the  Prince  in  his  strange  dress.  Once  they  were 
stopped,  but  each  of  them  was  sensible  enough  to 
answer  all  questions  with  satisfaction.  After  some 
time  they  reached  the  island,  and  soon  Prince  Charlea 
found  his  way  to  the  continent  of  Europe,  where  he 
found  other  friends. 

Flora  McDonald  lived  in  Scotland  for  thirty  years 
after  that  time.  She  watched  the  fortunes  of  Prince 
Charles,  hoping  one  day  to  see  him  king;  but  when  he 
died  all  hope  of  that  was  lost.  She  came  to  America 
and  made  her  home  among  the  Highlanders  on  the 
Cape  Fear. 

In  1775  news^reached  Fayetteville  that  war  between 
England  and  the  colonies  was  certain.  In  May  of  that 
year  it  was  known  that  the  war  had  begun  in  Massa- 
chusetts. It  soon  became  known,  also,  that  the  patriots 
at  Mecklenburg  had  declared  their  independence. 
Flora  McDonald  heard  all  of  these  things,  and  was 
much  opposed  to  the  Americans.  She  was  a  strong 
friend  of  England  now. 

"I  fought  England  to  put  'Bonnie  Charles'  upon  the 
throne,  yet  I  cannot  aid  the  Americans  in  this  rebel- 
lion," she  would  say.  Many  Scotch  settlers  thought  as 
she  did. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  1775  news  came  to  the  Tories  ar 


44  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

Fayetteville  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  a  large  fleet 
and  army,  was  coming  to  North  Carolina.  He  had  sent 
word  down  to  the  Cape  Fear  that  he  hoped  to  meet  a 
large  number  of  the  friends  of  the  king  at  Wilmington 
early  in  February,  1776.  He  expected  to  take  that 
place,  and,  with  the  help  of  the  Tories,  conquer  North 
Carolina.  The  Americans  who  aided  the  British  were 
called  "Tories."  Those  who  fought  the  British  wrere 
called  "rebels"  and  "patriots'-  and  "Whigs." 

Flora  McDonald  was  very  active  in  getting  the  Tories 
together.  She  sent  letters  and  messages  over  the  set- 
tlement, urging  the  people  to  assemble  in  the  name  of 
King  George.  By  the  beginning  of  1776  she  had  helped 
to  get  together  about  sixteen  hundred  Tories.  They 
soon  had  a  chance  to  fight,  for  Colonel  Caswell  and  his 
Whigs  had  prepared  to  resist  them.  The  battle 
was  fought  and  the  Tory  army  was  completely  de- 
stroyed. 

Some  time  after  the  Revolution  Flora  McDonald  re- 
turned to  Scotland,  where  she  spent  her  last  days.  Her 
life  was  a  sad  one,  because  she  had  engaged  in  two 
great  undertakings,  both  of  which  were  failures.  She 
is  known  in  history  as  one  of  the  heroic  women  of  hef 
day. 


DEFEAT    OF    THE    TORIES  4:5 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  TORIES 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  there  were  many 
Tories  in  North  Carolina.  These  people  believed  that 
the  Americans  were  doing  wrong  in  fighting  England. 
Many  of  them  joined  the  British  armies  and  fought 
against  their  countrymen. 

Flora  McDonald  and  her  husband,  Alan  McDonald, 
were  very  active  in  organizing  the  Tories.  It  was  quite 
strange  that  these  two  were  in  favor  of  the  English 
king.  They  had  been  active  against  him  in  Scotland, 
and  had  come  to  North  Carolina  to  regain  the  money 
they  had  lost  m  fighting  for  Prince  Charles.  But  when 
the  time  came  for  them  to  decide  what  to  do  they  sided 
with  King  George.  They  got  many  of  the  Scotch  set- 
tlers to  join  against  the  North  Carolina  patriots.  So 
in  January,  1776,  there  were  more  Tories  in  arms  in 
North  Carolina  than  patriots.  Governor  Martin  had 
promised  to  raise  ten  thousand  Tories  to  join  the 
British  when  they  should  come  to  Wilmington  in  that 
year.  It  was  a  gloomy  time  for  the  patriots. 

There  were  a  few  North  Carolina  soldiers  watching 
the  Tories.  Colonel  Moore  had  a  small  force  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fayetteville.  Colonel  Caswell  was 


46  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

coming  with  another  force  from  Newbern.  Their  com- 
bined strength  did  not  amount  to  twelve  hundred  men, 
while  the  Tories  had  more  than  two  thousand  armed 
with  broadswords. 

Caswell  posted  himself  ut  Moore's  Creek  Bridge, 
which  was  situated  between  the  Tories  and  Wilming- 
ton, where  the  Tories  wanted  to  go.  Moore  was  at 
Rockfish,  some  miles  below  Fayetteville. 

General  Donald  McDonald,  the  Tory  leader,  marched 
up  in  sight  of  Moore's  little  army  and  demanded  its  sur- 
render. He  was  very  haughty  and  overbearing. 

"I  command  you,"  said  he,  "in  the  name  of  King 
George,  to  lay  down  your  arms  and  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance." 

Colonel  Moore  declined  to  do  this.  He  said  that  he 
was  engaged  in  a  noble  cause,  and  invited  General  Mc- 
Donald to  join  him  in  this  cause. 

• 

The  Tory  leader  turned  off  and  hurried  on  toward 
Wilmington.  When  he  came  into  the  neighborhood  of 
Caswell's  little  army,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  demand 
the  surrender  of  the  patriots.  Caswell  replied  that  he 
did  not  come  there  to  surrender,  nor  did  he  expect  to 
surrender.  Then  McDonald  got  his  men  ready  for  bat- 
tle. But  as  General  McDonald  was  sick  and  could  not 


DEFEAT    OF    THE    TORIES  47 

lead  his  men,  the  command  was  given  to  Colonel  Don- 
ald McLeod. 

As  the  bridge  had  been  taken  away,  the  Tories  had 
to  cross  the  creek  on  two  girders  that  had  held  the 
bridge.  The  patriots  were  on  the  other  side  ready  to 
shoot  down  any  men  that  attempted  to  cross. 

Soon  they  heard  the  Tories  give  three  cheers  for 
"King  George  and  broadswords,"  then  the  long  roll  on 
the  drum,  and  the  call  to  arms  by  the  bagpipes.  It  was 
still  dark  when  the  patriots  heard  the  tramping  of  the 
Scots  and  knew  that  the  battle  was  about  to  begin. 
McLeod  and  Campbell  led  the  Tories,  who  appeared  on 
the  other  side  of  the  creek. 

"Who  goes  there?"  asked  the  sentinel  at  the  bridge. 

"A  friend,"  answered  McLeod. 

"A  friend  of  whom?" 

"Of  the  king,"  was  the  reply. 

The  sentinel  did  not  answer.  McLeod  thought  that 
he  was  one  of  his  own  men,  and  addressed  him  in 
Scotch.  But  as  no  answer  came  back  he  ordered  his 
men  to  fire.  They  did  so,  and  made  a  rush  to  get  across 
the  bridge.  McLeod  and  Campbell  got  across,  but  the 
other  Tories  were  shot  down  as  fast  as  they  crowded 
upon  the  logs.  The  two  commanders  and  many  of  the 
men  were  killed. 


48  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

The  patriots  then  charged  across  the  creek,  attacked 
the  Tories  and  put  them  to  flight,  capturing  eight  hun- 
dred of  them.  Many  wagons,  horses  and  guns  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  patriots.  General  McDonald  and  Alan 
McDonald  were  taken  prisoners.  The  patriots  lost  only 
one  man. 

It  was  a  great  victory.  Not  only  did  it  stop  the 
Tories  from  going  to  Wilmington,  but  it  kept  the 
British  from  making  a  landing  there.  Thus  North 
Carolina  was  saved  that  year. 


BOOK  IV 


Adventures  of  an  American  Spy.     Pages  37-38,  Book 


North  Carolina  History  Stories 


THE  NOBLE  FOUR  HUNDRED 

When  the  British  captured  Charleston  nearly  all  of 
South  Carolina  surrendered.  Cornwallis,  the  British 
commander,  then  got  ready  to  conquer  North  Carolina. 
He  sent  Colonel  Tarleton  ahead  to  destroy  any  force 
that  he  might  meet. 

There  were  two  small  armies  in  North  Carolina  then. 
General  Caswell  had  one  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State  and  General  Rutherford  one  near  Charlotte. 
These  two  patriots  were  watching  to  see  what  Corn- 
wallis  would  attempt  to  do. 

General  Rutherford  was  raising  all  the  men  he  could, 
for  he  thought  that  the  British  would  soon  be  coming 
into  North  Carolina.  He  wanted  to  get  together  a  force 
large  enough  to  give  Cornwallis  some  trouble  when  he 
did  come.  So  he  was  sending  here  and  there  to  get  the 
North  Carolina  heroes  to  join  him.  Before  he  had  got- 
ten together  an  army  large  enough  to  meet  the  British, 

(9) 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

he  heard  of  the  assembling  of  a  large  body  of  Tories  at 
Ramseur's  Mill,  in  the  mountains.  These  were  under 
Colonel  John  Moore,  a  noted  Tory  leader.  About  thir- 
teen hundred  had  already  assembled,  and  the  whole 
country  seemed  to  be  full  of  them. 

Rutherford  knew  that  this  body  of  men  would  do  a 
great  deal  of  harm  unless  they  were  beaten.  He  sent 
Colonel  Francis  Locke  and  Major  David  Wilson  with 
four  hundred  men  to  keep  a  watch,  and,  if  the  situation 
was  favorable,  to  attack  them.  These  patriots  set  out 
at  once,  and  on  the  19th  of  June  reached  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Ramseur's  Mill. 

That  night  the  patriots  held  a  council  of  war.  All 
the  officers  in  the  little  army  met  and  talked  over  the 
matter.  All  were  in  favor  of  attacking  the  enemy  next 
day. 

"It  is  true  they  have  three  men  to  our  one,"  said 
Colonel  Locke,  "but  one  brave  man  in  the  cause  of  jus- 
tice and  right  is  worth  a  dozen  of  these  rascals." 

"Let  us  give  the  scamps  a  blow  that  they  will  not 
soon  forget,"  said  Major  Wilson.  "Let  us  march  at  mid- 
night and  attack  them  at  dawn.  They  shall  not  escape 
us." 

It  was  decided  to  make  the  attack  at  daylight  next 
morning.  So  they  got  in  place  before  daybreak,  and 


THE  NOBLE  FOUR  HUNDRED  11 

waited  for  the  time.  Just  as  the  day  broke  the  patriots 
on  horseback  charged  up  the  hill  toward  the  Tory  camp. 
The  Tories  fled  at  the  first  attack,  but  soon  recovered 
from  their  fear  and  began  to  return  the  fire.  The  Tory- 
fire  was  too  hot  for  the  horsemen;  so  they  ran  back 
down  the  hill.  The  Tories  began  to  pursue  them.  But 
the  infantry  came  up  just  then  and  fired  rapidly  upon 
the  Tories.  Many  of  them  fell,  and  they  had  to  retreat 
up  the  hill.  With  a  shout  the  patriots  followed. 

The  Tories  got  into  a  strong  place  on  top  of  the  hill, 
and  the  patriots  could  not  drive  them  out.  Colonel 
Locke  began  to  retreat  down  the  hill  with  his  men. 
Just  then  Colonel  Hardin,  with  another  body  of  pa- 
triots, came  upon  the  field  and  opened  fire  upon  the 
Tories.  They  in  turn  ran  back  up  the  hill,  followed  by 
Locke  and  Hardin.  Their  position  was  stormed,  and 
the  Tories  fled  to  a  position  on  the  other  side  of  the 
hill.  Then  they  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce.  The  request 
was  that  there  should  be  no  more  fighting  until  the 
dead  could  be  buried  and  the  wounded  attended  to. 
Colonel  Locke  refused  this  request. 

"Tell  Colonel  Moore,"  said  he,  "that  I  give  him  ten 
minutes  in  which  to  surrender.  If  at  the  end  of  that 
time  he  does  not,  then  I  march  upon  him." 

When  the  minutes  were  out  the  patriots  made  a 


12  NORTH   CAROLINA   HISTORY    STORIES 

charge  upon  the  Tories.  They  fled,  leaving  their  dead 
and  wounded  behind.  The  field  was  covered  with  them. 
.  This  was  a  great  victory  for  the  patriots.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  affairs  in  the  whole  war.  The 
four  hundred  North  Carolina  soldiers  had  met  and  de- 
feated a  force  more  than  three  times  their  number. 
This  victory  raised  the  hopes  of  the  Americans;  and  the 
Tories  began  to  creep  back  to  their  homes  and  firesides. 
About  the  same  time  Colonel  Bryan,  another  Tory, 
was  raising  men  for  the  British  army  on  the  Yadkin 
river.  General  Rutherford  heard  of  this  and  went 
against  him.  Bryan  had  heard  of  Moore's  fate  at  Ram- 
seur's  Mill.  So  he  did  not  wait  to  see  Rutherford.  He 
got  out  of  the  country  as  quickly  as  he  could. 


OOBNWALLIS  IN  A  HORNETS*  NEST  13 


CORNWALLIS  IN  A  HORNETS'   NEST. 

Cornwallis  finished  the  conquest  of  South  Carolina  in 
the  summer  of  1780.  He  was  determined  to  conquer 
North  Carolina,  too.  Nothing,  he  thought,  would  be 
able  to  stop  him. 

It  was  in  September  that  his  army  began  to  move 
northward.  There  was  no  American  army  to  oppose 
him.  Gates  had  been  beaten  a  short  time  before  at 
Camden.  But  there  was  a  small  force  of  North  Caro- 
lina troops,  under  Colonel  W.  R.  Davie,  watching  the 
British  army.  This  little  band  was  made  up  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  on  horseback. 

They  were  very  active  men,  and  gave  the  British  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  Sometimes  they  would  gallop 
down  upon  a  British  foraging  party,  charge  upon  them 
with  their  sabres,  and  be  gone  before  the  British  could 
recover  from  their  surprise.  At  other  times  they  would 
appear  in  front  of  the  line  of  march  and  make  such  a 
noise  that  Cornwallis  would  order  a  halt,  thinking  that 
an  army  was  about  to  attack  him.  Again,  they  would 
gallop  around  to  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  put  spurs  to 
their  horses,  and  charge  right  into  the  British  lines, 
causing  a  big  stir  and  bustle,  and  be  off  before  the 


14:  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

enemy  could  do  anything.  In  this  way  Colonel  Davie 
and  his  dragoons  worried  the  British  a  great  deal.  They 
had  made  up  their  minds  to  drive  Cornwallis  out  of 
North  Carolina. 

It  was  about  the  last  of  September  that  the  British 
came  to  Charlotte.  Davie  had  reached  there  first,  and 
resolved  to  give  them  a  hot  reception,  and  show  them 
how  North  Carolinians  received  visitors  when  they 
came  unbidden.  For  that  purpose  he  stationed  his  little 
band  so  that  they  could  receive  the  British  as  they 
came  up  the  street. 

Charlotte  was  then  a  town  of  about  twenty  families. 
It  had  two  streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles. 
The  courthouse  was  near  the  crossing  of  these  streets. 
Davie  put  one  division  of  his  soldiers  near  the  court- 
house behind  a  stone  wall.  He  placed  two  other  divis- 
ions a  little  farther  down  the  street,  up  which  the 
British  were  expected  to  come.  With  these  arrange- 
ments made  they  awaited  the  coming  of  the  redcoats. 

They  did  not  have  very  long  to  wait,  for  soon  the 
British  came  charging  up  the  road,  expecting  to  see  the 
Americans  scatter  and  run  like  rabbits  before  them. 
But  they  were  mistaken.  The  North  Carolinians  did 
not  fire  until  the  British  were  in  good  range.  At  the 
first  volley  many  British  fell  from  their  horses.  The 


CORNWALLIS  IN  A  HORNETS*  NEST  15 

others  continued  to  advance,  but  another  withering  fire 
came  from  the  Americans. 

Again  Cornwallis  ordered  his  men  to  charge  and 
drive  the  Americans  from  behind  the  stone  wall.  They 
came  in  a  headlong  rush,  but  Davie  and  his  men  were 
ready  for  them.  The  volleys  rang  out,  once,  twice, 
thrice,  and  the.  British  fled,  leaving  the  road  covered 
with  dead  and  wounded.  The  third  attack  shared  the 
same  fate,  and  it  seemed  that  Davie's  little  band  was  a 
good  match  for  the  whole  British  army. 

The  British  were  determined  to  capture  this  Hor- 
nets' Nest;  so  Cornwallis  sent  some  men  to  attack  the 
North  Carolinians  on  the  side.  Davie  saw  what  they 
were  up  to.  He  thought  that  it  was  a  good  time  for  the 
hornets  to  leave  their  nest,  as  it  was  beginning  to  be  a 
little  warm  for  them.  They  left  Charlotte  to  the  British 
and  retreated  toward  Salisbury. 

Cornwallis  sent  a  detachment  of  cavalry  to  catch 
Davie  and  his  brave  little  army.  They  galloped  up  the 
road  after  the  Americans;  but  when  they  came  in  reach 
Davie  and  his  men  were  ready  for  them  again.  They 
fired  upon  the  British  and  put  them  all  to  flight.  Then 
Davie  and  his  men  rode  on  to  Salisbury. 

Several  days  after  this  Cornwallis  heard  that  Colonel 
Ferguson,  one  of  his  bravest  Qtticers?  ka4  been  Defeated 


16  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

and  slain  by  an  army  of  mountaineers  at  King's  Moun- 
tain. This  was  a  great  blow  to  the  British  general.  He 
concluded  that  there  were  too  many  hornets'  nests  in 
North  Carolina,  and  that  it  was  not  a  very  good  time 
to  go  farther  north.  He  retreated  into  South  Carolina 
to  wait  until  cooler  times  should  come. 


HEROES  OF  M'INTYEB'S  17 


HEROES  OF  McINTYRE'S 

While  Cornwallis  was  in  Charlotte  he  needed  pro- 
visions for  his  army.  There  was  no  bread  and  meat  in 
the  town.  Colonel  Davie  had  taken  good  pains  not  to 
leave  any  there  for  the  British.  Cornwallis  had  heard 
that  there  was  a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions  on 
Mr.  Mclntyre's  farm,  about  seven  miles  from  Charlotte. 
One  morning  in  October,  1780,  he  sent  four  hundred 
men  with  wagons  to  capture  these  provisions  and  bring 
them  to  camp.  This  large  number  of  men  was  sent  be- 
cause he  was  afraid  that  Colonel  Davie  with  his  dra- 
goons might  be  near.  Besides,  he  wanted  to  catch  all 
the  chickens,  turkeys,  pigs  and  cows  that  might  be  seen. 
They  started  early  in  the  morning  so  that  they  could 
load  up  and  get  back  the  same  day.  They  took  with 
them  a  pack  of  hounds  to  catch  the  poultry  and  the  pigs. 
As  they  went  they  shouted  for  King  George.  People 
living  along  the  road  saw  and  heard  them,  but  kept  at 
their  work. 

Presently  the  soldiers  came  to  a  farm  where  a  boy 
was  ploughing  in  the  field  some  distance  from  the  road. 
As  they  were  passing  they  gave  a  shout  for  "King 
George  and  merry  England."  The  boy  stopped  and 


18  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY  STORIES 

looked  at  them  a  moment;  then  he  unhitched  his  horse 
from  the  plough,  leaped  upon  his  back,  and  rode  rapidly 
across  the  field  to  the  woods.  The  British  jelled  at  him 
to  stop,  but  he  kept  going.  Soon  he  reached  the  woods, 
took  a  by-path,  galloped  with  all  his  might  to  the  road, 
and  came  out  ahead  of  the  British  column.  He  put 
spurs  to  his  horse  and  rode  rapidly  up  the  road  toward 
Mclntyre'Sj  for  he  knew  the  British  were  going  there. 
As  he  went  he  spread  the  news  that  the  British  were 
coming.  At  every  house  he  shouted  the  alarm. 

When  he  reached  Mclntyre's  it  was  yet  early  in  the 
day.  Quickly  he  told  the  news  and  dashed  up  the  road 
to  tell  the  minute  men  the  enemy  was  coming.  Mr. 
Mclntyre  and  his  family  got  away  as  quickly  as  possi 
ble,  but  they  could  not  carry  anything  with  them  ex- 
cept their  guns.  They  ran  to  the  woods,  and  had  just 
hidden  themselves  when  the  British  came  in  sight. 

In  the  meantime  the  boy  had  gone  on  spreading  the 
news.  The  patriots  began  to  join  Mr.  Mclntyre  in  the 
woods  near  the  farm.  Colonel  George  Graham  with 
twelve  dragoons  came  and  halted  some  distance  from 
the  house.  He  could  see  what  was  going  on  at  the  farm. 
The  British  had  taken  possession  of  the  place.  They 
were  chasing  the  chickens  and  the  turkeys  over  the  lot. 
Some  were  killing  the  pigs  and  the  cows.  Others  were 


HEROES  OF  M'INTYRE'S  19 

out  in  the  field  gathering  fruit  and  vegetables.  The 
wagons  were  being  filled  with  the  provisions.  Every 
one  was  hurrying  to  and  fro. 

Some  of  the  British  ran  out  into  a  lot  where  a  num- 
ber of  beehives  were.  One  soldier  knocked  one  of  the 
hives  over.  Then,  in  the  scuffle  to  get  away,  two  or 
three  hives  were  overturned.  The  bees  came  out  in 
swarms  and  attacked  the  redcoats.  There  was  a  great 
scampering  of  the  soldiers.  They  did  not  know  how  to 
fight  bees,  so  they  ran  with  all  their  might  to  get  out 
of  the  way.  The  bees  had  won  a  great  victory. 

Out  in  the  woods  Graham,  Mclntyre  and  others  were 
watching  the  British.  They  could  not  help  from  laugh- 
ing when  the  soldiers  got  among  the  bees.  They  did 
not  feel  that  they  were  strong  enough  to  attack  the  red- 
coats, but  decided  to  give  them  some  trouble  when  they 
started  back  to  Charlotte.  They  crept  up  as  near  as 
they  could  and  noticed  what  was  being  done  at  the 
house.  But  Mr.  Mclntyre  became  so  anxious  about  his 
house  and  property  that  he  could  not  control  himself. 
He  wanted  to  drive  away  the  enemy  from  his  home. 

"Boys,"  said  he,  "I  can't  stand  this  any  longer.  See 
how  they  are  destroying  my  things.  I  pick  the  captain. 
Every  one  choose  his  man  and  shoot  to  kill."  With  that 
he  pointed  his  rifle  at  the  British  captain,  standing  in 


20  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

the  porch,  and  pulled  the  trigger.  Each  of  the  others 
picked  out  a  man  and  did  the  same.  The  captain,  with 
nine  soldiers  and  two  horses,  fell  dead  at  the  first  fire. 
The  fire  was  repeated  and  others  fell.  There  was  at 
once  a  great  uproar  among  the  British.  The  trumpets 
sounded  and  the  men  came  running  from  the  fields. 
By  the  time  they  had  formed  in  line  the  patriots  had 
changed  their  position  and  were  pouring  in  a  deadly 
fire  from  another  direction.  Men  and  horses  were  shot 
down  by  the  score.  The  British  ran  here  and  there  to 
no  purpose.  They  were  panic-stricken. 

"Set  the  dogs  on  the  rascals!"  shouted  some  of  the 
redcoats.  The  dogs  ran  to  the  woods,  but  soon  returned 
whining  and  howling.  One  had  been  killed  and  others 
wounded.  Then  the  soldiers  charged  into  the  woods, 
but  they  could  not  find  the  patriots.  The  Americans 
changed  their  position  every  time  they  fired.  The 
British  were  being  shot  down,  but  could  not  return  the 
fire  with  any  effect. 

There  was  great  hurrying  to  get  away  from  the  farm. 
The  loaded  wagons  rattled  down  the  road,  with  the 
soldiers  straggling  after  them.  The  horses  were  killed 
and  the  wagons  blocked  the  road  until  there  was  hope- 
less confusion.  For  nearly  seven  miles  the  British  ran 
with  all  their  might,  and  the  patriots  kept  shooting 


HEROES  OF  M'JNTYRE'S  21 

them  down.  Other  country  people,  hearing  what  was 
going  on,  seized  their  guns  and  joined  the  patriots.  The 
British  were  chased  to  Charlotte,  which  they  reached 
after  having  lost  many  men  and  horses.  They  said  that 
every  bush  on  the  road  concealed  a  rebel. 

Thus  it  was  that  Cornwallis's  men  got  into  another 
hornets'  nest.  They  left  North  Carolina  soon  after  that 
and  returned  to  South  Carolina. 


22  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


ROUGH  RIDERS  OP  THE  SMOKIES 

Cornwallis  wished  to  get  supplies  for  his  army  and 
to  rouse  the  Tories.  For  that  purpose  he  sent  Colonel 
Patrick  Ferguson  with  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  men  to 
western  North  Carolina.  This  officer  was  one  of  the 
bravest  and  most  skillful  in  the  British  army.  He  went 
to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  sent  word  to  Colonel 
Isaac  Shelby  that  he  was  coming  to  destroy  the  settle- 
ments and  kill  all  the  people,  unless  they  joine.d  the 
British. 

Colonel  Shelby  received  the  message,  but  it  had  a 
different  effect  from  the  one  Ferguson  desired.  There 
were  many  other  patriots  in  the  settlements  along  the 
French  Broad  and  the  Holston  like  Colonel  Shelby. 
They  were  anxious  for  a  chance  to  meet  the  British  on 
the  battlefield.  Nothing  could  please  them  more  than 
to  have  Ferguson  attempt  to  carry  out  his  threat.  They 
sent  him  an  urgent  invitation  to  come  on. 

These  hardy  mountain  settlers  were  good  fighters. 
They  had  fought  the  Indians  many  times,  and  were 
skillful  in  the  use  of  arms.  Besides,  they  were  excellent 
riders.  They  loved  freedom,  and  were  ready  to  shed 
their  blood  for  it.  When  they  heard  that  the  British 


BOUGH   RIDERS   OF   THE   SMOKIES  23 

were  coming,  word  was  sent  from  settlement  to  settle- 
ment to  get  weapons  in  order  and  to  assemble  at  Syca- 
more Shoals  on  the  25th  of  September.  Colonel  Camp- 
bell, a  Virginia  patriot,  was  also  informed,  and  he  came 
with  four  hundred  men  from  the  Old  Dominion. 

At  the  appointed  time  there  were  more  than  a  thou- 
sand mounted  men  at  the  place  of  meeting.  Colonel 
Campbell  was  chosen  as  leader.  Colonels  Shelby, 
Sevier,  McDowell  and  Williams  were  to  be  advisory 
commanders.  Parson  Doak  preached  a  parting  ser- 
mon, telling  them  to  go  forth  and  smite  the  enemy 
"with  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon." 

Over  the  mountains  they  went  in  a  gallop.  They 
were  afraid  that  Ferguson's  heart  would  fail  him,  and 
that  he  would  turn  back.  So  they  galloped  by  night 
and  by  day.  On  through  mountain  defiles  and  gaps 
they  hurried,  anxious  to  meet  the  proud  enemy  who  had 
threatened  to  burn  their  homes.  As  they  hurried  on, 
other  riders  joined  them  until  there  were  eighteen  hun- 
dred ^sturdy  patriots  hastening  to  meet  the  enemy. 

Ferguson  heard  of  what  was  coming.  He  was  afraid 
to  meet  these  rough  riders  from  the  Balsams  and  the 
Smokies.  So  he  turned  back  and  traveled  east  as  fast 
as  he  could.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  a  flying  messen- 


24  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

ger  to  South  Carolina  for  help.  He  had  raised  a  storm 
in  the  "Land  of  the  Sky,"  and  was  now  flying  before  it. 

Colonel  Campbell  thought  that  Ferguson  would  run. 
To  prevent  his  escape,  nine  hundred  and  ten  of  the  fast- 
est and  boldest  riders  were  selected  and  sent  on  in  rapid 
pursuit.  They  pushed  on  and  overtook  the  enemy  at 
King's  Mountain. 

Ferguson  had  halted  on  top  of  the  mountain  and  for- 
tified his  position.  He  boasted  that  "all  the  rebels  in 
hell"  could  not  take  him.  He  found  out  that  the  rebels 
in  Western  North  Carolina  could.  Soon  after  he  halted, 
the  mountaineers  came  in  sight  of  the  British.  They 
dismounted,  tied  their  horses,  formed  into  columns  and 
began  to  advance  up  the  mountain  side.  They  were 
armed  with  rifles,  sabres  and  tomahawks.  They  were 
Indian  fighters  and  knew  how  to  dodge  bullets. 

When  the  British  cavalry  charged  down  the  hill  upon 
them,  they  dodged  behind  trees  and  shot  the  riders. 
Three  times  the  British  rushed  upon  them,  but  each 
time  the  deadly  fire  of  the  rough  riders  rang  out,  and 
many  of  the  enemy  fell  to  rise  no  more.  At  last  Fergu- 
son himself,  leading  the  last  charge,  was  pierced  with 
seven  bullets  and  fell  dead.  All  the  British  were  either 
killed  or  captured. 

After  the  battle  the  officers  of  the  mountaineers  held 


ROUGH   RIDERS   OF   THE   SMOKIES  25 

a  council  of  war.  They  decided  that  nine  of  the  cap- 
tured Tories  were  traitors  to  their  country  and  deserved 
death.  They  were  promptly  hanged.  Then  these  men 
gave  their  prisoners  and  spoils  to  the  American  authori- 
ties and  set  out  for  their  homes.  They  had  been  away 
from  home  about  one  month,  and  had  performed  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  deeds  of  the  whole  Revolutionary 
War. 

Cornwallis  heard  of  the  event  soon  after  he  had  got- 
ten into  a  hornets'  nest  at  Charlotte.  He  at  once  re- 
treated to  South  Carolina,  and  gave  up  the  conquest  of 
North  Carolina  for  that  year. 


26  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 


GENERAL  GREENE  WITHOUT  A  PENNY 

Nathaniel  Greene  was  one  of  the  best  generals  in  the 
American  army.  He  was  General  Washington's  right- 
hand  man.  More  than  once  he  had  done  things  for 
which  Washington  had  praised,  and  Congress  had 
thanked,  him. 

When  Gates  was  beaten  in  the  battle  of  Camden  it 
was  thought  that  Greene  was  the  man  who  should  take 
his  place.  Washington  believed  that  Greene  would  be 
able  to  employ  the  attention  of  Cornwallis  better  than 
any  other  general  in  the  army.  For  that  reason  Gates 
was  recalled  and  General  Greene  was  sent  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  army  in  North  Carolina. 

He  came  to  Hillsboro  in  the  fall  of  1780.  The"  army 
was  in  bad  condition.  The  Americans  had  been  so  badly 
beaten  at  the  battle  of  Camden  they  could  not  bear 
to  hear  even  the  name  of  Cornwallis.  The  army  was 
small  and  without  provisions.  Greene  hardly  knew 
what  to  do,  but  he  realized  that  it  would  not  do  to  be 
idle.  He  divided  his  little  army  into  two  divisions.  One 
of  these  he  sent  into  the  western  part  of  South  Caro- 
lina to  attack  Tarleton.  This  division  was  under  Gen- 


GENERAL    GREENE    WITHOUT    A    PENNY  27 

eral  Morgan.     The  other,  under  General  Huger,  re- 
mained in  the  neighborhood  of  Charlotte. 

General  Greene  himself  was  very  active.  He  was 
traveling  here  and  there  trying  to  raise  more  troops 
and  to  get  money  and  supplies.  Sometimes  he  was 
alone,  and  at  other  times  members  of  his  staff  went 
with  him.  One  night  he  was  riding  along  the  road  from 
Guilford  courthouse  to  Salisbury,  entirely  alone.  He 
had  been  trying  to  raise  some  money  among  the  rich 
landowners  of  that  part  of  North  Carolina,  but  had 
failed  everywhere.  He  was  tired  and  discouraged. 
Presently  he  heard  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  in  front 
coming  towards  him.  He  stopped  and  reined  his  horse 
to  one  side  of  the  road  and  waited.  The  sounds  came 
nearer.  Soon  he  could  tell  from  the  sound  of  voices 
that  they  were  not  British  soldiers,  but  citizens  return- 
ing from  Salisbury. 

When  they  came  up  he  spoke  to  them.  They  halted 
and  exchanged  greetings. 

"Did  you  see  any  British  soldiers  at  Salisbury?" 
asked  General  Greene. 

"Yes,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "a  company  of  cavalry 
came  in  while  we  were  there.  They  were  rejoicing  over 
a  great  victory  that  Tarleton  has  gained  over  Morgan." 

yu  jee' 
11 


28  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

Greene  knew  that  the  men  had  not  recognized  him, 
and  he  did  not  want  to  say  anything  that  would  make 
him  known  to  them.  At  the  same  time  he  was  over- 
whelmed by  the  bad  news.  But  he  hid  his  feelings. 

"How  is  that?"  asked  Greene.  "Have  the  two  armies 
met  in  battle?" 

"Yes,  indeed;  and  one  division  of  Greene's  army  has 
been  completely  destroyed,  and  Cornwallis  is  after  the 
other." 

This  was  a  piece  of  bad  news.'  General  Greene  put 
spurs  to  his  horse  and  galloped  off,  leaving  the  coun- 
trymen wondering  who  he  was.  He  could  not  believe 
the  report,  for  General  Morgan  would  surely  have  sent 
a  messenger.  Still  he  was  in  a  depressed  state  of  mind, 

Soon  he  came  to  a  large  house  by  the  roadside.  He 
decided  that  he  would  stop  and  ask  permission  to  stay 
all  night.  He  dismounted  and  knocked  at  the  door.  A 
lady  opened  to  him. 

"  You  see  at  your  door,  madam,"  said  he,  "  General 
Greene,  of  the  American  army,  homeless,  penniless  and 
almost  friendless.  Will  you  allow  him  to  spend  the 
night  under  your  roof?" 

"General  Greene  is  welcome  to  this  house  and  all  that 
is  in  it,"  said  the  lady. 


GENERAL    GREENE    WITHOUT    A    PENNY  29 

She  then  called  a  servant,  who  took  the  general's 
horse  to  the  stables. 

"Come  in,  General  Greene,  and  I  will  have  tea  pre- 
pared for  you.  I  am  Mrs.  Steele,  and  my  neighbors  will 
tell  you  whether  I  am  a  Tory  or  a  patriot." 

In  a  little  while  a  bountiful  supper  was  ready,  and 
while  Greene  was  eating,  Mrs.  Steele  took  out  from  a 
safe  a  bag  of  gold  and  gave  it  to  him. 

"This  is  the  savings  of  many  years/'  she  said,  "and  I 
know  of  no  better  use  to  which  to  put  it  than  for  the 
defense  of  my  country.  Take  it,  and  may  it  be  service- 
able to  you.  I  only  wish  it  were  more." 

General  Greene  thanked  her,  and  said  that  it  would 
be  a  most  valuable  means  of  getting  supplies  for  his 
army.  Just  then  some  one  knocked  loudly  at  the  door. 
Mrs.  Steele  opened  the  door  and  found  a  man,  dressed 
in  the  ragged  uniform  of  an  American  soldier,  standing 
there.  lie  asked  if  General  Greene  was  there. 

"I  was  told  that  he  might  be  here.  I  have  important 
dispatches  from  General  Morgan." 

By  that  time  Greene  was  at  the  door,  and  the  man 
with  a  salute  delivered  the  papers  into  his  hands. 

"I  am  a  messenger  from  General  Morgan,"  he  con- 
tinued, "who  told  me  to  inform  you  that  he  had  met 


30  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY    STORIES 

Colonel  Tarleton  at  the  Cowpens  and  had  killed  or  cap- 
tured almost  his  entire  force." 

"Thank  God  for  that!"  said  General  Greene,  as  he 
opened  the  dispatches.  He  found  that  Morgan  had 
gained  a  most  brilliant  victory,  and  was  then  on  his  way 
to  join  the  main  army  under  Huger. 

Next  morning  Greene  and  the  messenger  bade  fare- 
well to  Mrs.  Steele,  and  hastened  to  join  the  army  on 
the  Yadkin. 


THE   FALL   OF   A   PATRIOT  31 


THE  FALL  OF  A  PATRIOT 

As  soon  as  Cornwallis  heard  that  General  Morgan 
had  beaten  Tarleton  at  the  Cowpens,  he  set  out  from 
South  Carolina  with  his  whole  army  to  cut  off  Morgan's 
retreat.  He  knew  that  the  American  general  would  try 
to  get  back  to  North  Carolina  to  rejoin  General  Greene. 
He  thought  that  he  could  cut  him  off  at  the  Catawba 
river  and  capture  his  army  and  set  free  the  prisoners. 

He  marched  as  rapidly  as  he  could.  Hardly  any  time 
was  given  the  men  to  rest.  Day  and  night  he  hurried 
along.  He  must  get  to  the  fords  of  the  Catawba  before 
Morgan.  But  Morgan  was  no  idler.  Knowing  that 
Cornwallis  would  try  to  cut  him  off,  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  reach  the  Catawba  before  Cornwallis.  He 
marched  as  rapidly  as  he  could.  His  men  rested  little 
either  by  day  or  by  night.  He  must  get  to  the  river  be- 
fore Cornwallis. 

It  was  a  great  race.  Morgan  had  the  start,  and  he 
kept  his  advantage.  He  reached  the  river  and  passed 
over  before  Cornwallis  arrived.  The  river  rose  during 
the  night,  and  Cornwallis  could  not  get  over  for  two 
days.  During  that  time  Morgan  rested  and  sent  his 
prisoners  to  a  place  of  safety. 


32  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

General  Greene  placed  General  Davidson  at  Mc- 
Cowan's  ford  with  three  hundred  North  Carolina  sol- 
diers to  prevent  the  British  from  crossing.  He  and 
Morgan  led  the  army  away.  Cornwallis  with  the  whole 
British  army  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  waiting 
for  the  water  to  fall. 

General  Davidson  was  a  brave  North  Carolina  sol- 
dier. He  had  given  the  British  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
the  year  before,  when  they  attempted  to  conquer  North 
Carolina.  He  was  ever  on  the  watch  for  a  chance  to 
give  the  British  a  blow,  and  he  usually  hit  hard. 

On  the  morning  of  February  1,  1781,  Cornwallis  be- 
gan to  cross  the  river.  Colonel  Webster,  with  one 
division,  crossed  at  Beattie's  ford.  Cornwallis  himself 
led  the  other  division.  He  came  to  McCowan's  ford 
early  in  the  morning  while  it  was  yet  dark.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  river  could  be  seen  the  fires  of  the 
North  Carolinians. 

Cornwallis  saw  that  he  must  fight  his  way  across. 
"Who  would  have  thought  that  the  rebels  would  make 
a  stand  here?"  he  said  to  General  O'Hara. 

"They  mean  business,  too,"  said  the  other. 

General  O'Hara  was  given  the  task  of  driving  Gen- 
eral Davidson  from  the  river.  He  ordered  Colonel  Hall 
to  cross  the  river  with  a  strong  force.  When  this  force 


THE   FALL  OF  A   PATRIOT  33 

was  about  half  way  across  the  stream,  they  were  fired 
upon  by  the  Americans.  The  current  was  very  strong 
and  the  British  soldiers  were  waist  deep  in  the  water. 
They  stopped  and  would  have  gone  back,  but  the  offi- 
cers urged  them  on.  General  O'Hara  spurred  his  horse 
into  the  river  for  the  purpose  of  urging  on  his  men;  but 
before  he  reached  the  first  line  his  horse  stumbled  and 
threw  the  General  over  into  the  water.  He  go-t  out  as 
best  he  could,  but  his  ardor  was  somewhat  dampened. 

Cornwallis  also  dashed  in,  but  his  horse  was  killed 
while  he  was  crossing,  and  he  found  himself  afoot. 

Several  British  soldiers,  including  Colonel  Hall,  were 
killed.  Those  that  reached  the  other  shore  charged  up 
the  hill  against  the  North  Carolinians. 

While  the  British  were  crossing,  General  Davidson 
stood  firm  with  his  three  hundred  brave  men.  He  di- 
rected the  fire  of  his  men  with  good  effect.  But  when 
the  British  reached  the  shore  he  saw  that  it  was  useless 
to  resist  longer.  So  he  gave  the  order  to  his  men  to 
scatter. 

"To  the  woods,"  said  he,  "and  come  together  at  Ter- 
rent's  Tavern." 

As  he  was  in  the  act  of  mounting  his  horse  to  follow 
his  men,  a  British  bullet  put  an  end  to  his  life. 

His  death  was  a  severe  blow  to  Greene  and  the 
3 


34  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

American  cause.  Davidson  was  one  of  the  most  active 
patriots  in  North  Carolina.  •  He  did  much  to  hold  the 
patriots  together  in  the  dark  days  of  the  war. 

The  scattered  soldiers  came  together  at  Terrent's 
Tavern  as  they  had  been  ordered.  But  as  there  was  no 
leader  they  were  in  a  helpless  condition.  Tarleton  and 
his  dragoons  soon  attacked  them  and  put  them  to  flight. 


ADVENTURES    OF   AN   AMERICAN   SPY  35 


ADVENTURES  OF  AN  AMERICAN  SPY 

It  was  in  February,  1781.  Cornwallis  had  coine  into 
North  Carolina  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  General 
Greene's  army.  He  was  eager  for  battle,  and  so  were 
his  men. 

Greene's  army  was  not  strong  enough  to  meet  the 
British  in  open  battle.  The  men  were  so  ragged  and  so 
poorly  armed  that  Greene  kept  out  of  the  way  of  Corn- 
wallis as  best  he  could.  But  he  stayed  near  the  British 
army  so  that  he  might  be  able  to  stop  any  plundering. 

Often  he  would  send  a  soldier,  disguised  as  a  coun- 
tryman, into  the  British  camp  to  find  out  what  the 
enemy  was  doing  or  was  going  to  do.  Such  information 
was  very  useful  to  General  Greene.  He  could  tell  at 
any  time  where  the  British  army  was,  or  where  it  would 
be  next  day,  and  in  that  way  he  kept  out  of  the  way  of 
Cornwallis. 

One  day  Greene  sent  a  man  named  Jones  into  the 
British  lines  to  find  out  something  for  him.  Jones  spent 
the  day  among  the  British  soldiers,  and  found  out  every- 
thing that  he  wanted.  That  night  when  he  started  to 
leave,  a  sentinel  ordered  him  to  stop.  He  immediately 
broke  into  a  run  and  soon  reached  a  little  patch  of 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

woods  near  the  British  camp.     Soldiers  were  sent  in 
pursuit  of  him. 

As  the  British  entered  the  woods  they  saw  Jones 
creeping  along  under  the  bushes.  They  fired  upon  him, 
but  he  did  not  stop.  The  British  were  gaining  on  him, 
and  he  thought  he  was  lost.  As  his  only  hope  lay  in 
flight,  he  began  to  run  again.  He  thought  he  might  be 
able  to  escape  in  the  darkness. 

While  he  was  running  his  foot  caught  in  a  bramble 
and  tripped  him.  He  now  felt  sure  he  would  be  shot. 
But  a  bright  idea  came  into  his  mind  while  he  was  lying 
on  the  ground.  Near  him  was  a  large,  hollow  log.  He 
crawled  into  it,  thinking  that  the  British  would  soon 
pass  by  in  pursuit,  and  then  he  could  come  out  and  go 
his  way.  The  soldiers  came  up  near  the  log  and  stopped. 

"I  am  not  going  to  run  that  rascal  any  longer,"  said 
one.  "He  is  out  of  our  reach  by  this  time,  anyway,  and 
I'm  tired." 

"So  am  I,"  said  another. 

"Let  us  make  a  fire  here  and  rest." 

All  agreed  to  this.  To  Jones's  horror  they  gathered 
brush  to  make  the  fire  and  piled  it  against  the  log. 
Then  they  set  fire  to  "the  brush.  Soon  the  log  began  to 
burn,  and  Jones's  hiding  place  became  uncomfortable. 


ADVENTURES    OF    AN    AMERICAN    SPY  37 

What  he  should  do  he  did  not  know.  To  come  out 
would  be  death.  To  stay  in  would  be  the  same. 

Just  then  the  wind  sent  the  smoke  and  flame  into  the 
hollow  log.  Jones  could  not  stand  it  any  longer.  He 
began  to  scramble  out  backward.  The  British  saw  a 
stir  in  the  flames,  and  soon  a  man  with  blackened  face 
and  half-burnt  hair  and  clothes  jumped  out  of  the  log. 

"It's  old  Nick  himself!"  shouted  one  of  the  soldiers, 
and  then  they  all  took  to  their  heels. 

Jones  did  not  stop  to  inquire  what  they  were  running 
for,  but  got  away  as  fast  as  he  could.  It  was  well  that 
he  did;  for  the  British  soldiers  soon  recovered  from 
their  fear  and  came  back  to  capture  the  spy.  With 
torches  they  began  to  search  the  woods  again.  But  it 
was  too  late;  for  Jones  had  gotten  out  of  the  woods 
and  found  a  hiding  place  in  the  house  of  a  patriot  some 
distance  away. 

The  patriot  had  a  daughter  named  Hannah.  She 
took  Jones  up-stairs,  put  him  in  a  barrel,  and  headed  it 
up.  Then  she  waited  to  see  what  would  happen.  All 
night  the  family  waited  and  listened.  Just  at  dawn 
some  one  knocked  loudly  at  the  door.  The  door  was 
fiercely  shaken,  and  somebody  said  in  a  harsh  voice: 
"Open  the  door  instantly,  or  we  will  break  it  down." 

Hannah  opened  the  door  as  quickly  as  she  could,  and 


38  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

there  were  the  British  soldiers  outside.  She  was  not 
afraid  of  them,  and  asked  what  they  wanted. 

"Where  is  that  dog  of  an  American  spy?"  asked  the 
leader.  "I  know  he  is  here,  for  we  have  tracked  him  to 
this  place." 

"I  do  not  keep  up  with  American  spies,"  said  the  girl. 
"I  reckon  you  had  better  go  about  your  business." 

"I  am  'about  my  business,'  and  if  you  don't  tell 
me  where  you  have  hidden  him  we'll  tear  up  every- 
thing in  this  house.  We  are  going  to  find  him." 

The  British  began  to  search  the  house.  After  they 
had  searched  everything  downstairs,  they  went  up- 
stairs. There  were  several  barrels  in  a  room,  in  one  of 
which  was  Jones. 

"Come  out  of  that  barrel,"  said  the  leader  of  the 
British,  and  he  rolled  one  of  the  barrels  downstairs. 
That  was  the  one  Jones  was  ir .  The  head  burst  out  as 
it  was  going  down,  and  the  spy  jumped  up  and  seized  a 
stave. 

"Come  on,  my  men!"  he  shouted.  "We  have  them  at 
last." 

The  British  thought  there  were  other  Americans 
around,  and  fled  with  all  speed.  Jones  made  his  way  as 
fast  as  he  could  to  the  army  of  General  Greene,  and  the 
British  soldiers  went  back  to  their  army. 


DEATII  OP  THE  BUGLER  BOY  39 


DEATH  OF  THE  BUGLER  BOY 

After  the  battle  of  Cowpens,  General  Morgan  re' 
treated  to  the  Yadkin  river  and  joined  General  Greene 
there.  The  two  armies  then  marched  northward, 
as  Cornwallis  was  coming.  Greene  thought  that  he  was 
not  strong  enough  yet  to  risk  a  battle,  and  retreated 
toward  Virginia.  The  cavalry,  under  Colonel  Williams, 
remained  behind  to  protect  the  infantry  that  went  be- 
fore. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee  was  the  most  active  officer  in 
the  cavalry  division.  He  was  General  Greene's  most 
trusted  man.  Colonel  Williams  gave  him  very  impor- 
tant duties  to  perform  in  this  retreat.  He  had  to  guard 
the  rear,  and  that  brought  him  often  into  conflict  with 
the  British. 

In  Colonel  Lee's  command  was  a  bugler  boy  named 
Gillies.  He  was  hardly  more  than  fifteen  years  of  age, 
but  had  volunteered  to  do  service  for  the  American 
cause.  There  was  not  an  officer  or  man  in  Lee's  com- 
mand that  did  not  know  Gillies.  He  was  a  general  fa- 
vorite. Colonel  Lee  kept  him  near  himself  all  the  time. 
He  was  a  trusted  friend  as  well  as  a  comrade  in  arms. 
Lee  often  sent  him  upon  errands  and  always  found  that 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

he  did  his  duty.  On  this  retreat  Gillies  was  particularly 
useful. 

One  morning  in  February,  1781,  the  cavalry  had  made 
an  early  march,  and  had  stopped  about  9  o'clock  near 
Guilford  courthouse  to  cook  breakfast.  The  fires  had 
been  made;  the  meat  was  broiling  on  the  coals;  the 
cornbread  was  in  the  ashes;  the  soldiers  were  lounging 
ground  waiting  for  the  food  to  cook.  Just  then  the 
sound  of  hoofs  was  heard,  and  every  man  made  ready 
to  mount  at  the  signal.  Then  a  countryman  was  seen 
riding  up  the  road  in  a  great  hurry  and  excitement. 
He  was  hailed  and  stopped. 

"Where's  the  general?"  asked  the  countryman;  "I 
have  some  news  for  him." 

He  was  conducted  to  Colonel  Williams,  who  asked 
him  what  his  errand  was. 

"Lord  Cornwall  is  is  right  behind  you,  general,"  he 
said.  "I  saw  his  army  not  half  an  hour  ago  coming  up 
the  road  this  way.  They  are  not  three  miles  away." 

Colonel  Williams  knew  that  Cornwallis  was  coming, 
but  he  did  not  know  that  he  was  so  near.  But  as  he 
could  not  doubt  the  honest  farmer's  word,  he  ordered 
Colonel  Lee  to  send  a  small  force  down  the  road  to  see 
if  the  report  was  correct.  Captain  Armstrong  with  a 
few  horsemen  and  the  countryman  went  a  mile  in  that 


DEATH  OF  THE  BUGLER  BOY  41 

direction,  but  saw  nothing.  Colonel  Lee,  Gillies  and  a 
few  others  followed  and  soon  overtook  them.  They 
went  on  together  for  two  miles,  but  did  not  see  or  hear 
the  enemy. 

Lee  was  about  to  conclude  that  the  countryman  was 
mistaken.  But  the  man  protested  that  they  were  only 
a  short  distance  farther  on.  Colonel  Lee  decided  that 
he  would  return  to  breakfast.  He  told  Captain  Arm- 
strong to  go  on  with  the  countryman  until  he  came  to 
the  place  where  the  British  had  been  seen. 

Captain  Armstrong  selected  the  men  that  were  to  ac- 
company him,  and  was  moving  on  when  the  country- 
man stopped  and  said  that  he  could  not  go  on  unless  he 
was  furnished  with  a  better  horse.  "For,"  said  he,  "if  I 
should  be  captured  it  would  go  hard  with  me."  Lee 
saw  that  the  farmer  was  right.  He  told  Gillies  to  give 
his  horse  to  the  countryman  and  to  take  the  country- 
man's horse  back  to  camp.  The  exchange  was  made 
and  the  two  parties  separated,  one  going  on  to  meet  the 
British  and  the  other  going  back  to  breakfast. 

Instead  of  returning  to  camp,  however,  Lee  led  his 
dragoons  off  from  the  road  and  halted  in  the  woods  to 
see  what  might  take  place.  The  bugler  boy  rode  on 
toward  the  camp.  He  rode  slowly,  for  the  country- 
man's horse  was  lame.  Presently  a  rattle  of  musketry 


42  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

was  heard,  and  then  the  noise  of  horses  running.  Lee 
concluded  that  Armstrong  had  found  the  enemy  and 
was  retreating.  Sure  enough,  Armstrong  and  his  com- 
pany, followed  by  some  of  Tarleton's  dragoons,  soon 
came  in  sight.  The  American  horses  were  swifter  than 
the  British,  and  Lee  was  certain  that  the  Americans 
could  take  care  of  themselves.  But  he  was  afraid  for 
the  safety  of  the  bugler  boy,  who  was  mounted  on  the 
countryman's  horse.  So  when  the  dragoons  dashed  by 
him  in  pursuit  of  Armstrong,  Lee  ordered  his  men  to 
go  in  pursuit  of  the  dragoons.  He  came  up  in  time  to 
see  the  British  horsemen  sabre  Gillies  and  beat  him  to 
the  ground.  This  angered  Lee  and  his  men. 

"See  those  cowards,"  said  he,  "murdering  a  defense- 
less boy.  Soldiers,  let  not  one  of  the  villains  escape." 

The  British  saw  him  coming,  and  turned  to  meet  him. 
The  Americans  halted  not,  but  bore  down  with  all  their 
might  upon  the  enemy.  Great  was  the  shock,  and  most 
of  the  British  were  knocked  from  their  horses  and 
killed.  Captain  Miller  and  two  or  three  of  his  men 
tried  to  escape,  but  Lee  ordered  Lieutenant  Lewis  to  go 
in  pursuit  and  give  no  quarter.  Lewis  soon  returned 
with  Miller  as  a  prisoner.  Lee  ordered  him  to  be  shot 
for  the  murder  of  the  bugler  boy;  but  Miller  denied  that 


DEATH  OF  THE  BUGLER  BOY  43 

he  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  and  said  that  his  men 
were  drunk  and  did  not  know  what  they  were  doing. 

Lee  went  to  where  Gillies  was  lying.  The  poor  boy 
was  not  dead,  but  life  was  fast  going  from  him. 

"My  poor  boy/'  said  Lee,  "you  are  badly  hurt,  but 
those  cowardly  rascals  have  already  been  punished." 

"Did  their  captain  get  away?"  Gillies  asked  with 
great  effort.  "He  was  the  one  who  struck  me  first  with 
his  sabre." 

That  was  enough.  Lee  went  back  and  ordered  the 
British  captain  to  prepare  for  instant  death.  He  begged 
for  his  life  in  vain.  But  just  as  those  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  execute  him  were  leading  him  off,  some  one 
shouted  that  Tarleton's  cavalry  was  coming.  The 
Americans  hurried  on  to  camp  and  joined  the  main 
army.  The  British  captain  was  turned  over  to  Colonel 
Williams,  who  sent  him  on  to  a  prison  in  Virginia.  And 
so  it  happened  that  he  was  never  punished  for  the  kill- 
ing of  the  bugler  boy. 

Gillies  died  in  a  few  minutes  after  the  advance  of  the 
British  was  seen,  and  his  body  was  placed  by  the  road- 
side. There  is  a  monument  to  him  on  the  Guilford  bat- 
tle-ground near  Greensboro. 


12 


44  NOETH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 


HOW  COLONEL  PYLE  SAVED  TARLETON 

Ccrnwallis  tried  to  catch  Greene's  army,  but  he  did 
not  succeed.  General  Greene  kept  going  until  he 
crossed  the  Dan  river  into  Virginia.  Then  Cornwallis 
went  to  Hillsboro  and  encamped. 

From  this  place  he  sent  word  to  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  that  he  had  come  as  a  friend,  and  that  he  ex- 
pected them  to  be  true  subjects  of  the  king.  As  there 
was  no  American  army  in  North  Carolina  to  keep  the 
Tories  in  check,  they  began  to  flock  to  the  standard  of 
the  British  general. 

Greene,  who  was  resting  at  Halifax,  Virginia,  heard 
of  what  was  going  on  in  North  Carolina,  and  made  up 
his  mind  that  he  would  try  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  He  sent 
Colonel  Lee  and  General  Pickens,  with  a  small  force, 
into  North  Carolina.  He  told  them  to  keep  a  close 
watch  on  the  Tories,  and,  if  possible,  keep  them  from 
joining  the  British. 

Soon  after  crossing  the  Dan  river,  these  two  officers 
learned  that  Colonel  Tarlton,  with  his  dragoons,  was 
just  ahead  of  them  and  was  going  toward  Guilford 
courthouse  to  rouse  the  Tories  in  that  neighborhood. 
Colonel  Lee  thought  that  it  would  be  a  good  time  to 


HOW  COLONEL   PYLE   SAVED   TARLETON  45 

attack  Tarleton  and,  if  possible,  drive  him  from  North 
Carolina.  With  that  in  view  they  proceeded  in  the 
direction  of  the  British  camp.  On  the  way  they  met  a 
countryman,  who  told  them  that  Tarleton  and  his  dra- 
goons were  about  three  miles  ahead. 

"They  have  halted  at  the  farm  of  a  neighbor  of  mine," 
said  the  countryman.  "They  are  much  given  to  liquor 
and  their  horses  are  unsaddled." 

Lee  saw  that  his  opportunity  was  at  hand.  He  hur- 
ried on  in  order  to  reach  the  place  before  the  British 
should  finish  their  dinner.  When  they  arrived  at  the 
farm,  however,  all  the  British  were  gone  except  two, 
who  were  left  behind  to  settle  with  the  farmer.  These 
two  were  captured.  From  them  it  was  learned  that 
Tarleton  had  gone  on  about  six  miles  farther  to  encamp 
for  the  night. 

Lee  then  thought  that  it  would  be  best  for  his  men 
to  pass  through  the  country  as  British  soldiers  coming 
from  Hillsboro  to  the  aid  of  Colonel  Tarleton.  He  in- 
formed all  his  officers  and  men  of  what  he  was  doing, 
and  told  them  to  act  the  part  of  British  soldiers.  He 
gave  the  two  prisoners  into  the  hands  of  a  sergeant, 
who  was  instructed  to  kill  them  instantly  if  they  should 
try  to  betray  the  Americans.  Thus  having  arranged 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

matters,  the  little  army  marched  on  toward  Tarleton's 
camp. 

In  a  little  while  they  met  two  well-mounted  young 
countrymen.  These  young  men  rode  up  and  asked  to 
see  the  colonel.  They  were  deceived.  They  thought 
that  the  Americans  were  British,  and  that  the  com- 
mander was  Tarleton  himself.  They  were  led  to  Colonel 
Lee,  whom  they  saluted  with  respect. 

"We  have  come  from  Colonel  Pyle,"  said  one  of  them, 
"who  has  four  hundred  brave  North  Carolinians  ready 
to  join  your  command  to  fight  for  the  cause  of  the  king. 
He  wishes  to  know  how  he  may  unite  his  force  with 
yours." 

Lee  saw  that  the  countrymen  had  made  a  mistake  in 
thinking  that  he  was  Tarleton.  He  decided  to  turn  the 
matter  to  advantage.  He  told  one  of  the  men  to  return 
to  Colonel  Pyle  and  tell  him  to  draw  up  his  men  along 
the  roadside  and  await  his  coming.  The  other  man  re- 
mained with  Lee. 

Colonel  Pyle  did  as  he  was  requested.  Lee  came  up 
with  his  command  and  halted.  Then  he  marched  his 
dragoons  along  the  line  of  Colonel  Pyle's  command. 
Lee  was  at  the  head  of  the  line.  When  he  came  to  where 
Colonel  Pyle  was  he  stopped,  and  that  officer  gave  the 
military  salute.  Lee  returned  the  salute. 


HOW  COLONEL  PYLE   SAVED   TARLETON  47 

"Colonel  Tarleton,"  said  Pyle,  addressing  Colonel 
Lee  by  mistake,  "you  see  before  you  four  hundred  as 
brave  subjects  of  the  king  as  are  to  be  found  anywhere. 
They  have  become  tired  of  seeing  their  countrymen  in 
arms  against  their  sovereign.  So  they  have  resolved  to 
join  you  in  breaking  down  the  rebellion." 

"Colonel  Pyle,"  said  Lee,  "you  are  mistaken  in  the 
man  and  the  meeting.  Be  easy  and  listen  to  me.  I  am 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee."  At  this  Pyle  gave  a  start  and 
partly  drew  his  sword. 

"You  must  be  easy,"  said  Lee.  "Your  life  is  not 
worth  a  baubee  if  you  make  any  movement  at  all.  My 
men  have  orders  to  shoot  you  down  if  you  do  not  com- 
ply with  my  orders." 

Just  at  that  time  a  heavy  firing  was  heard  down  the 
road.  Some  of  Pyle's  men  had  seen  General  Pickens's 
militia  in  the  woods  and  fired  upon  them.  The  Ameri- 
cans returned  the  fire,  and  Lee's  dragoons,  thinking 
that  they  were  discovered,  began  to  cut  down  the  men 
in  their  front.  Pyle  tried  to  lead  his  men  against  Lee, 
but  the  dragoons  were  too  fast  for  him.  In  less  than 
fifteen  minutes  Pyle  himself  was  cut  down  and  left  for 
dead,  while  ninety  of  his  command  had  been  killed. 
The  others  scattered  in  every  direction,,  and  succeeded 
in  getting  away,  as  they  were  not  pursued. 


48  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

After  this  Lee  hurried  on  to  attack  Tarleton.  It  was 
nearly  sundown  when  he  came  within  a  mile  of  the 
British.  lie  wanted  to  make  the  attack  at  once,  but  it 
was  thought  best  to  wait  until  morning.  So  the  Ameri- 
cans slept  with  their  arms  near  them.  About  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night  Tarleton  broke  camp  and  hurried  back 
to  Hillsboro  to  rejoin  Cornwallis.  Lee  and  Pickens  pur- 
sued him,  but  could  not  get  near  enough  to  give  battle 
that  night. 

So  Colonel  Pyle  probably  saved  Tarleton  from  cap- 
ture. Lee  was  expecting  to  meet  a  British  colonel,  but 
met  an  American  colonel  instead. 


BOOK  V 


"He  dashed  down  the  rock  at  lighting  speed  into  the  river.' 
Page  32,  Book  V. 


North  Carolina  History  Stories 


THE  MINUTE  MEN  OF  THE  HILLS 

During  the  Revolutionary  War  there  was  an  organi- 
zation in  western  North  Carolina  known  as  "Minute 
Men."  It  was  made  up  of  the  patriots  who  could  not 
leave  their  homes  permanently  to  join  the  regular  army, 
but  were  ready  to  fight  at  a  minute's  notice  whenever 
the  British  came  into  North  Carolina. 

These  men  lived  among  the  mountains  and  loved 
their  freedom.  Some  of  them  had  rifles  and  swords, 
but  most  of  them  had  only  the  fowling  pieces  they  used 
on  their  hunting  trips  in  the  mountains.  But  they 
knew  how  to  use  these  weapons  with  telling  effect. 
They  were  thoroughly  organized  and  ready  to  respond 
to  the  call  to  arms,  no  matter  when  it  should  come. 
They  answered  when  they  were  called  to  fight  Ferguson 
at  King's  Mountain  and  the  Tories  at  Ramseur's  Mill. 
At  each  place  they  answered  with  a  powerful  blow, 
which  struck  down  the  enemy. 

(9) 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

When  Cornwallis  came  into  North  Carolina  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1781,  word  was  quickly  sent  up  to  the  hill  coun 
try  that  an  enemy  was  at  their  doors.  This  news  pro- 
duced a  stir  in  the  mountain  coves.  Messengers  were 
sent  here  and  there.  Lights  shone  from  the  mountains. 
The  air  was  full  of  hurry  and  preparation. 

Soon  the  tramp  of  feet  told  that  the  minute  men  were 
assembling.  Out  from  the  coves  and  valleys  they  came 
to  join  together  to  drive  the  enemy  from  their  doors. 
They  traveled  over  the  mountains  looking  for  a  chance 
to  strike  the  British.  When  they  reached  Salem  it  was 
learned  that  Greene  had  retreated  and  was  then  in  Vir- 
ginia. Cornwallis  was  at  Hillsboro.  But  soon  it  was 
known  that  General  Greene  was  going  to  return  and 
give  battle  to  Cornwallis.  This  news  raised  the  spirits 
of  the  minute  men. 

For  some  days  they  waited  to  see  what  would  be 
done.  Then  a  messenger  from  Greene  came  through 
the  country  telling  the  news  everywhere:  "General 
Greene  has  recrossed  the  Dan  with  a  large  army,  and 
he  expects  every  patriot  to  meet  him  at  Guilford  court- 
house early  in  March."  It  was  then  near  the  last  of 
February.  The  minute  men  set  out  for  the  appointed 
place.  They  aroused  the  country  as  they  went.  Hun- 
dreds of  men  joined  them  as  they  proceeded,  and  when 


THE    MINUTE    MEN    OF    THE    HILLS  11 

they  reached  Greene's  camp  the  strength  of  his  army 
was  very  much  increased. 

General  Greene  now  thought  himself  strong  enough 
to  meet  Cornwallis  in  battle.  He  therefore  prepared 
himself  and  waited  for  the  British  to  come  up.  The 
North  Carolina  minute  men  were  placed  in  front.  They 
were  ordered  to  fire  upon  the  British  and  then  fall  back 
to  the  next  line. 

Presently  Cornwallis  and  his  army  came  in  sight. 
With  colors  flying  and  drums  beating  they  marched  up 
the  road  toward  the  minute  men.  It  was  a  beautiful 
sight.  The  minute  men  had  never  seen  anything  like  it 
before.  They  had  fought  Indians  and  had  chased  the 
bear  in  the  mountains,  but  they  had  never  seen  war  in 
such  colors  as  this.  But  they  stood  their  ground  until 
the  British  were  in  good  range.  Then  they  fired  with 
deadly  effect,  and  retreated  as  they  had  been  ordered  to 
do.  They  ran  from  the  field  with  much  haste,  and  gave 
the  appearance  of  a  flight.  They  re-formed  behind  the 
other  lines  and  joined  in  the  battle  later. 

When  the.  minute  men  fled  the  British  shouted,  think- 
ing that  the  battle  was  already  won.  They  found  that 
they  were  badly  mistaken,  for  when  they  met  th*  regu- 
lar troops  their  forward  march  was  checked.  Tarleton 
with  his  dragoons  was  ordered  to  drive  the  Americana 


12  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

back,  but  he  found  Greene  and  Lee  ready  to  pounce 
upon  him. 

While  the  battle  was  in  doubt,  General  Greene  or- 
dered his  men  to  retreat.  Then  it  was  that  the  minute 
men  of  the  hills  came  in  for  some  real  service.  Tarle- 
ton's  dragoons  began  to  pursue  them.  They  turned 
round  and  poured  in  a  deadly  fire  upon  the  dragoons 
and  checked  their  advance. 

The  minute  men  carried  their  bullets  in  their  mouths 
for  convenience.  As  quick  as  a  flash  they  would  fire 
and  reload.  Every  time  a  rifle  was  fired  a  British  sol- 
dier fell  from  his  horse  or  a  horse  tumbled  in  his  tracks. 
Tarleton  thought  that  he  had  better  wait  until  the 
minute  men  had  left  the  field  before  he  went  any  far- 
ther. So  he  halted  and  they  went  on. 

In  this  battle  the  British  lost  about  six  hundred  men 
and  the  Americans  about  four  hundred.  The  men  from 
the  mountains  did  good  service,  as  did  the  other  North 
Carolina  soldiers.  The  minute  men  remained  in 
Greene's  army  until  Cornwallis  was  driven  from  North 
Carolina.  Then  they  went  back  to  their  homes  to  raise 
their  crops  and  to  look  after  their  stock. 


COENWALLIS    ON    THE    RUN  13 


CORNWALLIS  ON  THE  RUN 

After  the  battle  of  Guilford  courthouse,  Cornwallis 
Sent  word  home  that  he  had  gained  a  great  victory.  He 
also  sent  out  notices  to  the  people  that  he  had  finished 
the  conquest  of  North  Carolina,  and  would  expect  all  of 
them  to  aid  him  in  establishing  peace.  He  was  sur- 
prised that  they  did  not  come  to  his  camp  to  congratu- 
late him  upon  his  victory.  He  began  to  feel  a  little 
uneasy;  and  presently  he  began  to  think  that  he  had 
won  no  victory  at  all. 

In  a  day  or  two  he  heard  that  General  Greene  was 
getting  ready  to  attack  him.  Greene  was  not  whipped 
at  all,  but  had  made  a  strong  camp  on  Troublesome 
creek.  He  was  hoping  that  Cornwallis  would  attack 
him  there,  but  the  British  general  had  another  matter 
to  attend  to.  He  was  anxious  to  get  away  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Greene  and  the  North  Carolina  min- 
ute men.  With  this  object  in  view  he  ordered  his  army 
to  begin  to  move  towards  Wilmington.  This  was  three 
days  after  his  "great  victory"  at  Guilford  courthouse. 

No  sooner  had  the  British  army  broken  camp  than 
the  Americans  began  to  close  in  upon  them.  Lee's 
legion  hung  on  the  rear,  and  again  and  again  made  at- 


14  NOKTH  CAROLINA  HISTOKY   STOKIES 

tacks  upon  the  British.  His  horsemen  would  gallop  up 
to  the  rear  line  of  the  enemy,  discharge  their  rifles, 
and  dash  away  before  Tarleton  could  organize  a  pur- 
suit. Colonel  William  Washington  was  also  with 
Greene's  army,  and  his  men  helped  in  these  attacks. 
They  were  mounted  on  large,  blooded  horses,  while 
Tarleton's  men  had  only  small  ponies.  The  British 
dragoon  was  therefore  no  match  for  the  American. 

One  day  it  was  learned  that  the  British  army  would 
soon  pass  along  a  road  that  had  a  high  fence  on  each 
side.  Colonel  Washington  said  to  Lee  that  it  would  be 
an  excellent  place  to  destroy  Tarleton's  cavalry. 

"If  we  attack  them  there,  Tarleton  will  have  to  pro- 
tect the  rear,  and  we  can  ride  him  down,"  said  Wash- 
ington. 

This  was  an  excellent  plan.  When  the  British  dra- 
goons had  gotten  well  into  the  lane,  Lee  sounded  the 
signal  for  attack,  and  the  big  horses  of  the  Americans 
ran  like  the  wind  down  the  lane  toward  the  British. 
Tarleton  saw  them  coming,  and  turned  around  to  receive 
the  attack.  His  little  horses  could  not  stand  the  shock. 
Every  one  that  the  Americans  reached  was  knocked 
down  and  rolled  in  the  mud.  The  riders  were  killed 
and  the  ponies  ridden  over.  Tarleton  himself  came  near 
going  down  in  the  charge.  He  saved  himself  by  putting 


'CORNWALLIS    ON    THE    RUN  15 

spurs  to  his  pony  at  the  first  shock  and  galloping  out  of 
range.  Just  then  a  British  cannon  was  rolled  into  posi- 
tion and  began  to  fire  straight  down  the  lane.  Lee  gave 
the  signal  for  retreat,  and  drew  off  without  losing  a 
single  man  or  horse. 

Cornwallis  hurried  on  to  Cross  creek,  which  was  set- 
tled by  Scotch  Highlanders  who  were  friendly  to  the 
British  cause.  There  he  hoped  to  get  out  of  the  way  of 
the  Americans  and  have  time  for  rest.  Before  he 
could  reach  that  settlement  Deep  river  had  to  be 
crossed,  and  there  was  no  ford.  So  he  had  to  build  a 
bridge.  Greene  had  halted  his  army  on  account  of  the 
scarcity  of  provisions,  but  had  sent  Lee  and  his  dra- 
goons to  watch  the  British  and  annoy  them  in  every 
possible  way.  Lee  delayed  Cornwallis  as  much  as  he 
could.  He  kept  dashing  up  with  a  great  deal  of  noise 
to  where  the  carpenters  were  at  work  upon  the  bridge, 
scaring  and  confusing  them.  Then  he  was  off  almost  in 
a  minute's  time. 

One  night,  when  the  bridge  was  nearly  finished,  and 
the  British  army  was  expecting  to  march  over  it  the 
next  morning,  Lee  thought  he  would  destroy  it.  If  he 
could  do  so,  it  would  cause  Cornwallis  to  have  to  wait 
until  it  could  be  rebuilt;  and  then  Greene  would  be 
there  to  attack  him,  and  the  whole  British  army  might 


16  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY    STORIES 

be  captured.  He  chose  two  hundred  men  from  his 
legion  to  do  this  work.  At  their  head  he  rode  ten  miles 
around  the  British  army  and  came  into  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  bridge  late  at  night.  He  was  greatly  dis- 
appointed to  find  that  Cornwallis  had  placed  a  guard  at 
the  bridge  too  large  for  him  to  think  of  attacking.  With 
regret  he  had  to  retreat  to  his  former  position. 

Next  day  the  whole  British  army  crossed  over  and 
came  into  the  settlement  of  the  Highlanders.  Lee  did 
not  think  it  wise  to  follow  them  farther.  So  he  waited 
until  General  Greene  arrived.  It  was  then  decided  to 
let  Cornwallis  alone  and  drive  the  British  out  of  South 
Carolina. 

Cornwallis  went  to  Wilmington.  He  remained  there 
for  some  time.  Then  he  went  north  into  Virginia,  and 
soon  reached  Yorktown. 


A    STRANGE    NIGHT    ATTACK  17 


A  STRANGE  NIGHT  ATTACK 

After  Cornwallis  had  worn  himself  out  whipping 
General  Greene  at  Guilford  courthouse,  he  retreated  to 
Wilmington.  He  was  afraid  to  meet  the  Americans  in 
another  battle.  So  he  shut  himself  up  in  that  city,  and 
would  not  come  out  again. 

General  Greene  decided  to  march  into  South  Caro- 
lina and  attack  the  British  there.  Before  he  went  he 
serit  Colonel  Harry  Lee  with  his  horsemen  to  South 
Carolina  to  let  the  people  know  that  he  was  coming. 
Lee  was  also  to  find  General  Marion,  the  "Swamp  Fox," 
as  he  was  called,  and  tell  him  to  collect  as  many  men  as 
possible  by  the  time  Greene  should  arrive. 

"Light  Horse  Harry,"  as  Colonel  Lee  was  called,  was 
the  very  man  to  do  this  work.  With  his  dragoons  he 
set  out  from  Greensboro  on  his  long  march  through  the 
forests  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  a  brave  man,  and 
did  not  mind  the  dangers  that  surrounded  him.  His 
horseme'n  also  were  brave.  They  scoured  the  country 
as  they  passed  through,  looking  for  British  and  Tories. 
There  were  no  British  to  be  found;  and  if  there  were 
any  Tories  around  they  were  afraid  to  let  it  be  known 
when  Lee's  men  were  near. 
13 


18  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

One  night  something  happened  which  they  remem- 
bered for  a  long  time  afterwards.  They  had  halted  and 
made  their  camp  in  a  large  forest.  As  usual,  Colonel 
Lee  had  placed  pickets  all  around  his  camp  to  give  the 
alarm  if  an  enemy  should  attack.  Then  they  all  retired 
for  the  night  and  slept  soundly  after  a  long  day's  march. 
Late  at  night  the  soldiers  on  guard  on  the  south  side  of 
the  camp  heard  a  great  tramping  of  feet  in  the  brush 
just  in  front  of  them.  They  thought  that  the  British 
were  making  an  attack  upon  them,  and  fired  in  that 
direction.  Then  they  heard  a  galloping  through  the 
forest  as  if  the  enemy  was  running. 

One  of  the  men  ran  as  fast  as  he  could  to  Colonel 
Lee's  tent.  The  colonel  was  already  up,  for  he  had 
heard  the  firing. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Lee.  "Is  the  enemy 
about  to  attack  us?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  the  soldier  saluting,  "a  squadron  of 
the  enemy  attacked  us  in  front  a  short  while  ago,  but 
we  beat  them  off  with  loss.  They  are  now  in  full  re- 
treat." 

Colonel  Lee  ordered  the  men  to  be  aroused  from  sleep 
and  to  prepare  for  battle.  He  expected. the  enemy  to 
return.  He  exhorted  his  men  to  stand  firm  and  to  strike 
hard  when  the  British  appeared.  Just  then  the  pickets 


A    STKANGE    NIGHT    ATTACK  19 

on  the  east  side  began  to  fire  their  guns.    Lee  ordered 
his  men  to  face  in  that  direction,  expecting  the  enemy 
to  attack  in  force.    But  the  firing  ceased.    Soon  a  sol 
dier  came  running  into  camp  from  the  east  side. 

"Where  is  the  enemy?"  asked  Lee. 

"I  have  to  report,  sir,"  said  the  man,  "that  the  enemy 
attacked  us  vigorously,  but  the  good  aim  of  our  men  has 
driven  them  off." 

"Let  every  man  be  ready  to  charge  at  a  moment's  no- 
tice," said  Lee. 

Before  he  finished  speaking  a  sharp  firing  was  heard 
on  the  north  side  of  the  camp.  Lee  felt  sure  the  attack 
was  coming  now,  but  it  did  not  come.  He  did  not  know 
what  to  think,  and  the  men  were  puzzled.  They  were 
not  cowards,  but  they  were  greatly  disturbed  by  the 
strange  behavior  of  the  enemy.  Presently  a  messenger 
came  in  from  the  picket  line  on  the  north  side  and  re- 
ported that  the  enemy  had  made  an  attack  there,  but 
had  retreated  at  the  first  fire,  and  was  retiring  north- 
ward. This  was  a  very  strange  thing  for  an  enemy  to 
be  doing.  But  Lee  held  his  men  in  line  of  battle  all 
night,  ready  to  repel  any  attack  that  might  come. 

When  daylight  came  they  looked  for  the  British,  but 
not  a  redcoat  could  be  seen  anywhere.  If  they  had 
been  there  during  the  night  they  were  gone  now.  There 


20  NORTH   CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

was  no  sign  of  them  anywhere.  It  was  a  great  mystery. 
After  a  while»they  found  the  tracks  of  many  wolves  all 
going  in  the  same  direction  toward  the  north.  Then 
the  mystery  was  understood.  Not  far  off  was  an  old 
building  where  meats  and  other  supplies  for  the  sol- 
diers had  been  placed.  The  wolves  had  found  this  out 
and  had  gone  there  in  a  large  pack. 

Having  satisfied  their  appetites,  the  wolves  were  re- 
turning when  they  ran  into  the  pickets  of  Lee's  men  on 
the  south.  Fired  upon  by  these  they  turned  to  the  right 
and  ran  through  the  woods.  Trying  to  get  back  to  the 
road,  they  ran  into  the  pickets  again  and  were  fired 
upon.  Scampering  off  again  they  continued  their  flight 
and  were  fired  upon  the  third  time  on  the  north  side. 

When  the  truth  became  known  a  broad  smile  was 
seen  on  the  faces  of  the  soldiers,  and  for  a  long  time  it 
was  a  joke  upon  the  pickets  that  they  could  not  tell  a 
pack  of  wolves  from  the  British  army. 


A  BRAVE  WOMAN'S  WIT  2l 


A  BRAVE  WOMAN'S  WIT 

When  Cornwallis  left  Wilmington  in  April,  1781,  he 
went  straight  to  Virginia,  after  stopping  at  Halifax  for 
a  few  days  to  give  his  men  rest.  While  there  his  famous 
cavalry  leader,  Colonel  Tarleton,  received  a  worse  de- 
feat than  the  one  he  got  at  the  Cowpens. 

Cornwallis  was  hurrying  to  Virginia  to  keep  Wash- 
ington from  capturing  New  York.  There  was  no  Ameri- 
can army  to  oppose  him.  General  Lillington,  a  North 
Carolina  patriot,  had  a  small  army,  but  he  could  not 
stand  against  the  British.  So  he  followed  along  be- 
hind, and  sometimes  he  would  attack  the  rear  line  with 
a  great  deal  of  vigor.  In  that  way  he  kept  the  British 
worried.  He  sometimes  took  a  few  prisoners  and  de- 
stroyed some  of  the  enemy's  wagons. 

About  the  first  of  May  the  British  came  to  Halifax. 
There  was  only  a  small  North  Carolina  force  under 
Governor  Nash  to  guard  the  town.  These  did  not  wait 
to  welcome  Cornwallis,  but  got  out  of  the  way  as  best 
they  could.  The  British  went  in  and  took  possession  of 
the  place. 

Some  of  the  British  officers  put  on  many  airs,  and 
walked  the  streets  with  high  heads  as  if  they  owned  the 


22  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY  STORIES 

town.  They  made  fun  of  the  people,  and  spoke  with 
contempt  of  the  American  army  and  of  General  Wash- 
ington and  the  other  officers.  The  people  took  all  these 
ugly  words  without  saying  much,  because  they  knew 
that  it  would  do  no  good  to  get  angry.  There  were  so 
many  British  that  it  would  be  foolish  to  provoke  them. 

There  were  in  Halifax,  however,  two  ladies  who  were 
not  afraid  to  express  their  opinions.  These  were  Mrs. 
Wiley  Jones  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Ashe.  These  ladies 
lived  in  an  elegant  mansion  near  town.  They  were  as 
patriotic  as  their  husbands  and  friends  who  were  then 
in  the  American  army  fighting  for  liberty.  One  day 
General  Leslie,  Colonel  Tarleton  and  some  other  British 
officers  went  to  Mrs.  Jones's  house  to  call  upon  the 
ladies.  Mrs.  Jones  did  not  want  to  see  them  at  all,  but 
she  thought  it  would  be  rude  to  refuse  to  receive  them. 
So  she  and  Mrs.  Ashe  went  down  to  the  parlor  and  there 
found  the  officers,  who  were  very  polite  and  bowed  low 
and  spoke  kindly.  Very  soon  the  talk  drifted  to  the 
war,  and  a  British  officer  made  a  slighting  remark 
about  the  American  army  and  the  officers. 

"The  American  generals  know  nothing  about  war," 
said  he.  "None  of  them  ever  had  any  military  training." 

"They  have  at  least  learned  some  things  on  the  battle- 
field," said  Mrs.  Jones.  "They  are  very  good  matches 


A  BRAVE  WOMAN'S  WIT  23 

for  the  trained  soldiers  in  the  British  army.  For  my 
part  I  think  you  might  learn  some  things  from  them." 

"They  are  indeed  good  soldiers,"  said  General  Leslie, 
"and  if  they  had  had  the  training  that  our  people  have 
had  the  war  would  soon  end  in  their  favor." 

"Mrs.  Jones,"  said  Colonel  Tarleton,  "are  you  ac- 
quainted with  Colonel  William  Washington?  I  have 
heard  him  spoken  of  so  often  that  I  should  be  glad  to 
see  him." 

"You  should  have  looked  behind  you  at  the  battle  of 
the  Cowpens,"  said  Mrs.  Ashe,  "and  you  would  have 
had  that  pleasure.  Colonel  Washington  does  not  hide 
himself,  nor  does  he  run  away  from  an  enemy." 

This  reply  made  Tarleton  very  angry,  for  he  remem- 
bered well  that  a  handsome  young  American  had 
wounded  him  in  the  hand  in  that  battle  and  made  him 
run.  But  he  did  not  know  that  it  was  William  Wash- 
ington. 

"I  did  not  come  here  to  be  insulted,"  said  he.  "I  did 
not  run  because  I  was  afraid,  but  to  save  my  troops. 
He  is  no  soldier.  I  am  told  that  he  is  an  ignorant  boor 
and  cannot  write  his  name." 

"At  any  rate,  Colonel  Tarleton,  he  knows  how  to 
make  his  mark,"  said  Mrs.  Jones,  "for  the  signs  are  still 


24  NORTH   CAROLINA    HISTORY    STORIES 

plain."  She  said  thi«  while  looking  at  his  wounded 
hand. 

Tarleton  became  furious,  and  swore  that  he  would 
kill  Washington  if  he  had  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  hunting  him  down. 

"He  shall  not  escape  me,  the  impudent  cur,  to  lie 
upon  me  that  way.  I'll  have  his  blood  or  die  in  the  at- 
tempt. These  despised  Americans  shall  learn  not  to 
speak  disrespectfully  of  their  betters." 

Thus  the  fierce  Briton  went  on  in  his  rage,  saying  all 
sorts  of  ugly  things,  until  General  Leslie  ordered  him 
to  stop.  Soon  they  went  away,  and  the  two  ladies  were 
glad  of  it.  The  fair  patriots  had  met  the  enemv  and 
had  defeated  them  in  a  war  of  words. 

Not  long  after  that  Cornwallis  left  Halifax  and  went 
on  to  Virginia.'  Tarleton  was  still  sore  over  his  defeat. 
He  never  saw  Colonel  Washington  to  carry  out  his 
threat,  for  shortly  after  reaching  Virginia  Cornwallis 
had  to  surrender  at  Yorktown  with  his  whole  army. 
Tarleton  went  back  to  England,  and  never  returned  to 
America. 


THE  TORY  BANDIT  25 


THE  TORY  BANDIT 

There  was  a  man  living  in  North  Carolina  during  the 
Revolution  named  David  Fanning.  He  was  a  very  cruel 
man,  and  took  delight  in  bringing  troubles  on  his  neigh 
bors.  He  joined  the  British  against  his  country,  and 
did  all  he  could  to  destroy  the  American  army.  Corn- 
wallis  appointed  him  as  a  leader  of  the  Tories  in  North 
Carolina.  This  was  in  the  spring  of  1781.  Soon  he  had 
four  or  five  hundred  men  who  went  about  with  him, 
killing  people  and  robbing  their  neighbors  of  horses 
and  money.  He  was  quite  a  daring  fellow.  Sometimes 
he  did  some  very  remarkable  things. 

At  one  time  court  was  in  session  at  Chatham  court- 
house. The  lawyers  were  talking  law  to  the  jury,  and 
the  judge  was  sitting  on  the  bench.  Suddenly  David 
Fanning,  at  the  head  of  forty  Tories,  rushed  into  the 
courthouse  and  made  the  whole  court  prisoners.  He 
hurried  them  off  to  Wilmington,which  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  British.  Then  he  and  his  men  went  off  to  find 
other  things  to  do.  He  was  never  idle,  and  he  hardly 
allowed  his  men  to  sleep.  Everybody  was  afraid  that 
Fanning  would  come  upon  them  unawares;  and  no  one 
ever  knew  when  to  expect  him. 


26  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY   STORIES 

There  was  one  man  in  Chatham  county  that  Fanning 
hated.  This  was  Colonel  Philip  Alston.  Once  Fanning 
had  been  out  upon  one  of  his  exploits  and  had  met  with 
Colonel  Alston  and  a  company  of  patriots.  Fanning 
was  beaten,  and  had  to  run  as  fast  as  he  could  to  get 
out  of  the  way  of  Colonel  Alston.  This  wounded  Fan- 
ning's  pride,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
get  even  with  Alston. 

About  the  first  of  August,  1781,  Fanning  heard  that 
Colonel  Alston  was  at  home  with  a  small  company  of 
soldiers.  He  thought  it  would  be  a  good  time  to  cap- 
ture him.  He  took  twenty-four  men  and  set  out  for 
Colonel  Alston's  house.  It  was  Sunday  morning  when 
they  reached  there.  Alston  had  placed  sentinels  around 
the  house.  These  had  been  on  the  watch  for  a  long 
time,  and  had  gotten  somewhat  careless.  Suddenly 
Fanning  rode  up  and  captured  some  of  the  sentinels 
before  they  could  get  into  the  house.  The  others  es- 
caped. Then  Colonel  Alston  saw  that  his  house  was 
surrounded  by  the  soldiers  of  his  enemy. 

There  was  much  excitement  in  the  house.  Mrs. 
Alston  put  the  children  up  the  brick  chimneys  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  shots;  then  she  got  into  the  bed  and 
covered  up,  head  and  ears.  Colonel  Alston  and  his  men 
shot  from  the  windows  and  doors.  Fanning  and  his 


THE  TORY  BANDIT 


27 


men  got  behind  fences  and  trees  and  shot  at  the  house 
as  best  they  could.  The  fight  was  kept  up  for  some  time. 
After  a  while  Fanning  told  Lieutenant  McKay,  one  of 
his  officers,  to  run  to  the  house  with  some  men  and 
burst  open  the  doors.  McKay  jumped  over  the  fence  to 
do  so,  but  was  shot  dead.  The  other  men  dodged  be- 
hind the  fence.  They  could  not  stand  the  hot  fire.  Then 
a  negro  ran  up  on  the  other  side  of  the  house  to  set  it 
on  fire,  but  he  was  shot  down  also. 

Late  in  the  day  Colonel  Fanning  thought  of  a  sharp 
trick.  There  was  an  ox  cart  standing  out  in  the  lot.  He 
filled  this  with  hay  as  a  protection  against  bullets.  His 
men  were  to  push  this  cart  ahead  of  them  to  Colonel 
Alston's  house  and  burst  down  the  door,  or  set  the 
hay  on  fire,  which  would  burn  the  house  down. 

Colonel  Alston  saw  what  they  were  doing  and  knew 
that  he  could  not  defend  the  house  much  longer.  He 
told  Mrs.  Alston  that  the  fight  was  about  over,  and  that 
they  would  have  to  surrender.  Mrs.  Alston  jumped  out 
of  bed,  unbarred  the  door  and  held  out  a  white  flag. 
Fanning  stopped  firing  and  called  out  to  her  to  meet 
him  half  way.  She  went  out  into  the  yard  and  Fanning 
came  out  from  behind  the  hay. 

"We  will  surrender,  sir,"  said  she.  "if  you  will  grant 
us  favorable  terms." 


28  NORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY  STORIES 

"What  terms  do  you  want,  madam?"  said  Fanning. 

"That  none  of  us  shall  be  injured  or  sent  out  of  the 
country,"  was  the  reply. 

"And  what  if  I  do  not  give  those  terms?" 

"Then  we  continue  the  fight,"  answered  the  brave 
woman.  "There  are  but  a  few  of  us,  but  each  man  will 
bring  down  a  Tory  before  the  end  is  reached." 

Colonel  Fanning  was  struck  with  this  brave  answer, 
and  immediately  granted  the  terms  asked  for.  He  had 
Colonel  Alston  in  his  power,  but  he  was  bound  by  his 
promise  to  Mrs.  Alston  that  none  of  them  should  be 
harmed.  So  he  paroled  all  the  prisoners  and  allowed 
them  to  go  home  in  safety. 

Shortly  after  this  event  Fanning,  at  the  head  of  his 
Tories,  marched  into  Hillsboro  and  captured  Governor 
Burke  and  all  the  State  officers.  These  were  sent  to 
Wilmington  and  kept  in  prison  for  a  long  time. 

Fanning  continued  to  be  a  terror  to  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  until  after  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was 
hated  by  all  the  patriots.  He  murdered  many  men  and 
women,  and  finally,  after  the  war,  fled  to  Canada,  wb-ere 
he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  an  exile  and  an 
outcast. 


HUNTER'S  STONE  STEPS  29 


HUNTER'S  STONE  STEPS 

Colonel  William  Hunter  was  one  of  the  patriots  who 
kept  David  Fanning  busy  in  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1781.  His  home  was  near  Sandy  Creek  Church,  in  Ran- 
dolph county.  He  was  a  strong  patriot,  and  did  all  he 
could  to  gain  the  independence  of  his  country. 

Before  the  Revolution  he  was  a  regulator,  and  was 
in  the  battle  of  Alamance.  When  the  war  began  he 
joined  General  Washington's  army  and  served  under 
him  during  the  first  years  of  the  war.  When  the  fight- 
ing was  over  in  the  north  he  came  back  to  North  Caro- 
lina to  help  his  people  against  their  enemies.  He  found 
the  State  overrun  by  the  British  and  Tories.  Cornwallis 
had  marched  through  the  State  three  times.  Fanning 
and  his  Tories  were  laying  waste  the  country  and  mur- 
dering the  people. 

Colonel  Hunter  went  about  the  country  raising  a 
force  of  men  to  put  a  check  on  the  Tories.  He  soon  had 
a  small  body  of  men  to  follow  him.  Fanning  was  doing 
some  ugly  things  in  Chatham  county,  so  Hunter  went 
in  search  of  the  famous  Tory.  Fanning  had  over  a  hun- 
dred men  with  him.  Hunter  had  less  than  twenty.  He 
did  not  know  that  Fanning  had  so  many;  but  Hunter 


30  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY   STORIES 

was  just  as  brave  with  twenty  as  he  would  have  been 
with  a  thousand.  He  had  no  thought  of  running  away 
from  the  Tory.  When  Fanning  attacked,  Hunter  held 
his  ground  and  fought  bravely.  Four  of  his  men  were 
killed  and  several  wounded.  Many  of  Fanning's  men 
were  killed  also.  "After  holding  his  ground  for  some 
time,  Hunter  saw  that  his  men  were  surrounded  and 
could  not  escape.  So  he  surrendered  on  condition  that 
their  lives  should  be  spared.  Fanning  was  glad  enough 
to  agree  to  this,  for  his  men  were  falling  every  time 
Colonel  Hunter's  men  fired  their  guns. 

Fanning  then  set  out  for  Hillsboro  with  his  prisoners. 
While  on  the  way  Colonel  Hunter  saw  a  good  chance 
to  escape,  and  made  use  of  it.  Quick  as  a  flash  he  made 
a  dash  for  the  woods  and  hid  under  a  rock,  while  the 
Tories  were  searching  for  him  in  the  forest.  He  lay 
quite  still  until  dark.  Then  he  crept  out  and  made  his 
way  to  a  farmer's  house.  The  farmer  promised  to  help 
him  get  away  from  the  Tories,  for  they  were  still  look- 
ing for  him.  Hunter  knew  that  if  he  could  get  to  Chat- 
ham courthouse  he  would  be  safe;  for  he  had  friends 
there.  The  important  thing  was  to  pass  the  Tories  who 
were  guarding  the  roads.  He  asked  the  farmer  to  take 
him  in  his  wagon  as  a  bag  of  grain.  The  farmer  put  him 
in  the  wagon,  piled  bags  of  grain  around  him,  and  set 


HTJNTEB'S  STONE  STEPS  31 

out  for  the  mill.  But  he  had  not  gone  far  before  he 
was  stopped  by  Fanning  and  his  men. 

"Where  is  the  rebel,  my  friend?"  asked  Fanning.  "He 
went  to  your  house  last  night,  I  have  been  told." 

"I  do  not  try  to  keep  up  with  the  rebels,"  answered 
the  farmer.  "I  am  on  my  way  to  mill,  and  I  shall  be 
obliged  if  you  will  let  me  pass." 

"Not  so  fast,"  was  the  answer.  "We  need  some  corn 
for  our  horses,  and  shall  have  to  ask  you  to  divide  with 
us." 

Colonel  Hunter  heard  what  was  said,  and  knew  that 
he  was  caught.  But  he  lay  quite  still  until  one  of  Fan- 
ning's  men  came  to  lift  out  the  bags.  When  he  got 
hold  of  the  bag  that  Hunter  was  in  he  knew  that  it  was 
not  corn.  So  he  called  for  help  and  soon  rolled  Colonel 
Hunter  out  of  the  wagon.  Colonel  Fanning  was  over- 
joyed to  see  his  enemy  in  his  hands  again. 

"I  am  very  glad  to  see  you,  Colonel  Hunter,"  he  said. 
"How  did  you  pass  the  night?  You  look  tired.  You 
shall  be  hanged  at  once." 

He  gave  the  order  for  Hunter  to  be  hanged  to  the 
nearest  tree.  His  men  were  getting  ready  to  put  the 
rope  around  the  prisoner's  neck,  when  Hunter,  with 
the  activity  of  a  cat,  leaped  upon  Colonel  Fanning's 
horse,  that  was  standing  near,  and  sped  away  like  the 


32 

wind.  Fanning  fired  several  shots  at  the  horse  and 
rider  as  they  dashed  up  the  road. 

Fanning  leaped  upon  another  horse  and  went  in  hot 
pursuit,  followed  by  his  dragoons.  It  was  then  a  race 
to  Deep  river.  Hunter  had  the  start,  and  was  mounted 
on  Fanning's  favorite  horse.  He  reached  the  river  some 
distance  ahead  of  his  pursuers,  but  there  was  no  ford 
near.  Just  before  him  was  a  large  slanting  rock  rising 
out  of  the  water.  This  was  too  steep  even  for  a  man  to 
run  down.  But  Hunter  dug  his  heels  into  the  flanks 
of  Fanning's  horse  and  dashed  down  the  rock  at  light- 
ning speed  into  tne  river.  The  horse  swam  the  river, 
reaching  the  other  side  just  as  Fanning  and  his  men 
came  up  to  the  banks.  They  dared  not  follow  him. 

Colonel  Hunter  stopped  a  moment  on  the  shore, 
shook  his  fist  at  Fanning  and  rode  away.  He  kept  the 
horse  as  a  trophy  of  his  exploit.  Hunter's  escape  was 
always  a  sore  subject  with  Fanning.  He  became  angry 
whenever  anyone  referred  to  how  he  lost  his  favorite 
horse. 


THE  STATE  OF   FRANKLIN 


THE  STATE  OF  FRANKLIN 

Soon  after  the  Revolution  some  of  the  people  in  the 
mountains  became  dissatisfied  with  the  North  Carolina 
government,  and  tried  to  form  a  State  government  of 
their  own.  Tennessee  was  then  a  part  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

These  people  became  angry  because  the  State  legis- 
lature gave  all  the  country  west  of  the  Great  Smoky 
mountains  to  the  United  States  government.  They 
said  the  State  had  no  right  to  take  such  action.  So  they 
declared  themselves  free,  and  called  a  convention  to 
meet  at  Jonesboro  to  write  a  constitution. 

All  that  country  had  been  settled  by  hunters  and 
trappers,  who,  like  Daniel  Boone,  wanted  "elbow 
room."  They  had  come  from  eastern  and  central  North 
Carolina,  and  were  looking  for  better  hunting  grounds. 
Colonel  John  Sevier,  one  of  the  rough  riders  who  had 
whipped  the  British  at  King's  Mountain,  was  the  best 
known  man  among  them. 

"What  right,"  said  he,  "has  the  legislature  to  trade 
us  off?  We  are  not  cattle.  We  are  free  men  and  helped 
to  drive  the  British  from  this  land.  We  have  a  right  to 

u 


34  NORTH   CAROLINA   HISTORY    STORIES 

say  how  we  shall  be  governed.  I  say  we  should  be  a 
State  to  ourselves." 

Most  of  the  people  agreed  with  him.  They  met  in 
Jonesboro  to  begin  a  new  State.  But  the  delegates 
were  all  bear  hunters  and  Indian  fighters,  and  they 
knew  more  about  hunting  than  they  did  about  law- 
making.  -They  could  not  agree  on  anything.  Every 
man  had  his  opinion,  and  had  little  respect  for  the  opin- 
ion of  any  other.  So  they  talked  and  disagreed  with 
each  other,  and  made  no  constitution.  Finally  they 
adjourned  without  accomplishing  anything. 

Next  year  they  met  again.  This  time  they  were  not 
so  noisy.  They  knew  better  what  to  do.  Soon  they  had 
the  constitution  written,  and  went  home.  Colonel 
Sevier  was  elected  governor. 

As  there  were  no  gold  or  silver  coins  in  the  State,  one 
of  the  things  the  legislature  had  to  do  was  to  make 
some  money  to  carry  on  trade.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
skins  of  animals  should  pass  as  money.  One  raccoon 
skin  passed  for  one  shilling  and  three  pence,  one  beaver 
skin  for  six  shillings,  and  one  deer  or  otter  skin  for  six 
shillings.  That  kind  of  money  was  very  convenient  for 
the  hunters  and  trappers  of  the  new  State.  Anyone 
could  get  it,  as  game  was  plentiful.  Whenever  a  man 
needed  money  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  take  his  gun  and 


THE  STATE  OF   FRANKLIN  35 

dogs,  go  to  the  woods  and  shoot  it  from  the  trees  or 
capture  it  in  the  chase.  So  it  happened  that  there  was 
always  plenty  of  money  in  the  land. 

When  Governor  Caswell,  of  North  Carolina,  learned 
what  Colonel  Sevier  and  his  people  had  done,  he  sent  a 
message  to  Sevier  that  he  had  better  stop  trying  to  be 
governor.  Sevier  would  not  agree  to  this,  as  he  thought 
himself  to  be  as  much  a  governor  as  Caswell  was.  Then 
Governor  Caswell  sent  a  detachment  of  soldiers  under 
Colonel  Tipton  to  settle  the  matter.  Sevier  was  so  in- 
dependent that  Colonel  Tipton  declared  that  he  would 
break  up  Colonel  Sevier's  government.  He  heard  one 
day  that  court  was  being  held  at  Jonesboro.  He  and 
his  soldiers  went  there  and  marched  into  the  court- 
house. They  upset  the  tables  and  the  chairs,  seized  the 
court  records  and  turned  the  judge  and  jury  into  the 
street.  When  Governor  Sevier  heard  of  it  he  collected 
his  soldiers  and  went  hunting  for  Colonel  Tipton.  He 
attacked  Colonel  Tipton's  house  and  burst  open  the 
doors.  Tipton  was  away.  Sevier  took  the  court  records 
and  carried  them  off  in  triumph.  No  blood  was  shed. 

Soon  afterward  Colonel  Tipton  made  an  attack  upon 
Governor  Sevier's  house  and  found  him  absent.  He 
went  in  and  found  the  records  which  had  been  taken 
from  him,  and  carried  them  away  with  him.  Again 


36  NORTH  CAKOLLNA  HISTOJJY   STOKIES 

Sevier  led  forth  his  soldiers  to  battle.  They  went 'to 
Colonel  Tipton's  house,  but  found  that  he  was  gone. 
The  court  records  were  again  taken,  and  were  hidden 
in  a  cave.  And  so  the  fight  raged.  It  was  a  war  in 
which  one  side  always  attacked  the  other  in  its  absence 
and  no  one  was  hurt.  Colonel  Tipton  and  Governor 
Sevier  were  both  brave  men,  but  they  did  not  happen 
to  meet. 

Finally,  in  1788,  Governor  Sevier  was  at  home  one 
day  when  Colonel  Tipton  called.  Sevier  was  captured 
and  carried  to  Morganton.  There  he  was  put  in  prison 
and  kept  for  some  time.  After  a  while  he  was  turned 
loose  because  he  had  been  such  a  brave  patriot  in  the 
Kevolution. 

With  Sevier's  capture  the  State  of  Franklin  fell,  for 
he  was  the  leader  of  the  movement.  In  a  few  years  all 
that  part  of  the  country  was  organized  as  the  State  of 
Tennessee,  and  the  people  elected  him  as  the  first  gover- 
nor. After  his  term  as  governor  was  out,  he  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  served  his  State  well. 
He  was  a  brave  man,  and  did  much  for  his  country  and 
for  the  State  of  Tennessee. 


STORY    OF    BATH 


37 


STORY  OF  BATH 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  Pamlico  river  in  Beaufort 
county  is  a  little  town  called  Bath.  It  was  settled  in 
1705,  and  is  the  oldest  town  in  North  Carolina.  About 
four  hundred  people  live  there  now,  but  many  years  ago 
it  was  much  larger. 

In  colonial  times  it  was  a  place  of  much  importance. 
Some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  colony  lived  there,  and 
many  interesting  things  happened  in  or  near  it.  The 
famous  Blackbeard  had  his  home  near  Bath  for  some 
years  before  he  began  his  piracy  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 
He  had  many  hiding  places  in  the  neighborhood,  and, 
it  is  said,  concealed  much  of  his  stolen  treasure  there. 

One  day,  in  1718,  the  people  of  the  town  were  very 
much  excited  over  a  piece  of  news  that  had  just  been 
received.  A  man  had  come  from  Jamestown,  Virginia, 
and  had  brought  the  tidings  that  a  war  vessel  had  been 
sent  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  capture  Blackbeard. 
Lieutenant  Maynard  was  in  command  of  the  vessel.  It 
was  expected  to  reach  Pamlico  sound  that  very  day, 
and  every  one  was  expecting  to  hear  the  roar  of  battle. 
People  were  walking  about  the  streets  and  talking  in 
an  excited  manner.  "Will  Maynard  be  strong  enough 


38  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

to  capture  the  pirate?"  was  the  question  aske.d.  No  one 
could  answer,  but  many  were  fearful  that  the  fight 
would  be  won  by  Blackbeard. 

"If  the  pirate  beats  in  this  battle,"  said  a  citizen, 
"then  the  trade  of  Bath  is  ruined.  We  will  be  in  his 
hands  for  all  time.  He  has  already  cut  us  almost  en- 
tirely off  from  the  world." 

"That  is  so,"  said  another.  "If  Maynard  fails,  then 
we  might  as  well  move  away  from  this  place  and  begin 
somewhere  else." 

"Blackbeard  is  a  terrible  enemy,"  added  another, 
"and  dreadful  will  be  the  fate  of  Maynard  if  he  falls 
into  the  hands  of  the  pirates." 

Just  then  the  boom  of  a  cannon  was  heard  far  down 
the  river.  Then  another  and  another  followed.  People 
became  wild  with  excitement.  They  were  £oing  hither 
and  thither. 

"That's  the  beginning  of  the  battle,"  was  heard  on  all 
sides.  "Pray  God  that  the  right  may  win!" 

For  some  time  the  roar  of  the  cannon  was  kept  up. 
Then  the  booming  was  less  frequent,  and  finally  ceased 
altogether.  All  felt  that  the  battle  was  being  fought 
out  on  the  deck  of  one  of  the  vessels,  and  there  was 
greater  anxiety  than  before.  All  were  anxious  to  know 
the  result  of  the  fight.  Hour  after  hour  passed  and  no 


STOEY    OF    BATH 


39 


tidings  came.  Men  began  to  feel  sure  that  Maynard 
had  been  beaten  and  his  vessel  destroyed. 

"Surely  Maynard  will  come  here  if  he  has  been  suc- 
cessful," all  said.  But  the  day  was  growing  old  and  he 
had  not  come.  Men  and  boys,  in  their  anxiety,  had 
gone  far  down  the  river  to  catch'the  first  glimpse  of  a 
coming  vessel.  But  time  passed  and  no  boat  came. 

Suddenly  a  vessel  was  seen  coming  up  the  river  with 
all  sails  set.  When  it  came  near  enough  to  be  seen 
plainly,  it  was  found  to  be  a  war  vessel,  and  it  was  not 
Blackbeard's.  It  came  up  and  anchored  in  the  harbor. 
A  great  cheer  went  up  from  the  people  who  had  gath- 
ered on  the  shore.  It  was  Maynard's  vessel,  and  had 
Blackbeard's  bloody  head  on  the  bow  and  thirteen 
pirates  as  prisoners  in  the  hold. 

The  people  were  glad  to  see  that  the  dreaded  pirate 
had  been  slain  and  his  band  broken  up.  Lieutenant 
Maynard  was  received  with  every  mark  of  favor.  After 
staying  there  for  a  day  or  two,  he  sailed  away  to  Vir- 
ginia to  carry  the  news  of  his  success. 

For  many  years  after  the  death  of  Blackbeard  the 
town  had  nothing  to  hinder  its  growth.  People  from 
all  over  the  colony  came  there  to  live,  and  it  soon  be- 
came the  leading  town  of  the  colony  and  a  center  of 
trade  and  commerce. 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

One  day,  while  Bath  was  at  its  greatest  prosperity,  a 
noted  preacher  came  there.  This  was  the  Rev.  George 
Whitefield,  who  had  preached  to  large  crowds  in  Eng- 
land and  the  colonies.  Wherever  he  went  people  flocked 
to  hear  him.  His  preaching  was  a  subject  of  conversa- 
tion everywhere.  At  Bath  it  was  quite  different.  No- 
body seemed  anxious  to  hear  his  sermons.  It  is  even 
said  that  people  mocked  and  made  fun  of  him.  No 
doubt  this  good  man  thought  the  people  were  very 
great  sinners,  and  doubtless  they  were. 

It  is  said  that,  after  he  had  been  mistreated  by  the 
people,  he  went  out  into  the  street,  shook  the  dust  from 
his  feet,  pronounced  a  curse  upon  the  town,  and  left. 
It  is  not  positively  known  that  he  did  this,  but  people 
living  to-day  in  that  part  of  the  country  tell  it  as  the 
truth. 

There  are  several  interesting  objects  in  Bath.  Among 
them  is  the  old  brick  church  that  was  built  in  colonial 
times.  The  bricks  used  in  building  it  were  brought 
from  England.  It  is  an  object  of  much  interest  to  those 
who  visit  the  old  town. 

whit'field 


'AN   OLD-TIME    SCHOOL  41 


AN  OLD-TIME  SCHOOL 

There  is  a  neighborhood  in  Halifax  county  called 
Dumpling  Town.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  to  tell  why 
it  is  called  by  that  name.  It  may  be  because  the  people 
living  there  were  very  fond  of  apple  dumplings.  There 
is  an  old  legend  which  says  that  the  housekeepers  of 
that  part  of  the  county,  a  long  time  ago,  had  a  contest 
to  decide  who  could  cook  the  largest  dumpling.  People 
from  far  and  near  came  to  see  the  dumplings,  which 
were  of  all  sizes,  from  the  tiniest  apple  to  the  largest 
cooking  pot.  There  were  dumplings  round  and  dump- 
lings long,  dumplings  small  and  dumplings  large.  It 
was  a  great  day  for  dumplings.  If  this  story  is  true, 
then  the  place  has  a  good  right  to  its  name.  But  no  one 
knows  whether  it  is  true  or  not. 

About  a  hundred  years  ago  there  lived  in  that  neigh- 
borhood a  teacher  whose  name  was  Thomas  Peterson. 
The  boys  called  him  "Old  Peters."  He  was  a  very 
learned  man,  and  knew  a  great  deal  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
He  taught  for  six  months  in  the  year  and  hunted  and 
fished  the  other  six.  As  a  consequence  he  was  just  as 
good  a  hunter  as  he  was  a  teacher. 

In  those  days  there  were  no  fine  schoolhouses  as 


42  iVORTH  CAROLINA   HISTORY    STORIES 

there  are  now.  In  many  neighborhoods  there  were  no 
schoolhouses  at  all.  The  house  in  which  "Old  Peters" 
taught  was  built  of  logs  and  had  one  room,  one  door  and 
two  windows.  The  floor  was  laid  with  slabs,  split  from 
pine  trees,  and  had  large  cracks  in  it.  The  windows 
were  made  by  sawing  through  a  log  on  each  side  of  the 
room.  These  windows  let  in  some  light,  but  they  also 
let  in  more  cold.  Between  the  logs  earth  and  sticks  had 
been  placed  to  keep  out  the  cold  winds,  but  on  warm 
days  the  boys  would  punch  the  earth  out  to  get  fresh 
air.  So  there  was  not  much  left  to  protect  the  children 
from  the  winter  winds  except  a  great  roaring  fire  in 
the  fireplace. 

The  fireplace  took  up  nearly  the  whole  of  one  end  of 
the  room.  In  cold  weather  large  logs  were  piled  upon 
the  fire  until  the  flames  leaped  up  the  chimney  and  the 
heat  went  into  all  parts  of  the  room.  At  such  times 
no  one  could  sit  in  the  chimney  corner,  for  it  was  as 
hot  as  a  furnace.  But  when  the  fire  was  not  so  large 
half  a  dozen  children  could  sit  in  the  corner  at  the  same 
time. 

Very  little  furniture  was  in  the  room.  The  teacher's 
table  and  stool  were  in  one  corner.  Benches  without 
backs  were  placed  here  and  there  for  the  pupils  to  sit 
on.  There  was  a  long  desk  built  along  the  wall,  which 


AN   OLD-TIME    SCHOOL  43 

was  used  as  a  writing  desk  for  children  who  had  ad- 
vanced that  far  in  learning.  Those  in  the  lower  grades 
had  to  sit  on  the  benches  without  desks  and  study  their 
books.  They  often  spent  a  good  deal  of  the  time  in 
drawing  pictures  on  their  slates. 

Usually  things  went  well  in  this  school,  for  the  pupils 
all  feared  "Old  Peters"  and  learned  their  lessons  well. 
But  sometimes  when  Mr.  Peterson  had  the  dyspepsia 
everything  seemed  to  go  wrong.  The  boys  did  not  know 
their  lessons  and  the  girls  whispered  too  much. 

One  day  "Old  Peters"  came  into  the  schoolroom  with 
a  frown  on  his  face.  The  boys  and  girls  began  to  feel 
uneasy,  and  kept  watching  the  large  bundle  of  switches 
that  he  had  near  his  desk.  It  was  plain  that  he  was  in 
a  bad  humor,  and  that  trouble  was  ahead. 

"Get  your  spelling  lesson!"  said  the  master,  and 
every  pupil  began  to  study  the  lesson  aloud  and  sway 
back  and  forth  in  his  seat  to  keep  time  with  the  sylla- 
bles. That  was  the  style  in  those  days.  One  boy  knew 
his  lesson  already.  He  moved  back  and  forth  with  the 
others,  but  while  they  were  studying  their  lessons  he 
was  saying,  "Old  Peters,  Old  Pete,  Old  Peters."  But 
alas!  just  as  he  was  saying  the  last  name,  all  the  others 
ceased  to  speak  and  his  words  sounded  out  loud  and 
distinct. 


4-4  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY  STORIES 

All  the  children  laughed  out.  "Old  Peters"  saw  the 
little  rascal  and  called  him  up  to  the  desk.  He  came 
trembling.  The  master  reached  for  his  switch  and  gave 
him  seieral  severe  blows.  Then  he  made  the  boy  stand 
up  in  the  corner  on  one  foot. 

When  the  class  came  up  to  recite,  the  boy  who  had 
been  punished  could  not  spell  the  words,  because  he 
was  scared.  He  had  lost  all  his  knowledge.  "Old 
Peters"  was  angry,  and  put  the  dunce  cap  on  the  boy's 
head.  He  then  had  to  stand  on  the  dunce  stool  for  the 
other  children  to  laugh  at.  The  poor  boy  sobbed  and 
groaned  for  a  long  time,  but  this  did  not  soften  the 
master's  heart.  He  made  one  of  the  others  hold  his 
book  -bag  under  the  boy's  face  to  catch  his  tears.  This 
was  worse  than  the  other  punishment,  and  the  boy  al- 
most died  with  shame. 

This  was  the  way  he  punished  for  misbehavior,  or  for 
not  knowing  a  lesson.  If  two  boys  got  into  a  quarrel 
with  each  other,  he  would  have  them  settle  their  diffi- 
culty at  recess,  and  he  did  it  in  this  way :  Each  boy  was 
given  a  stout  hickory  switch,  and  they  had  to  play 
"wrap  jacket"  until  one  had  enough.  Sometimes  the 
fight  would  be  kept  up  until  the  switches  were  worn 
out.  Then  others  would  be  gotten  and  the  battle  con- 


AN    OLD-TIME   SCHOOL  "45 

tinned  until  one  of  the  boys  cried  "enough."  Then  the 
master  declared  the  fight  ended  and  named  the  winner. 

At  Christmas  time  it  was  the  custom  for  the  boys  to 
shut  the  teacher  out,  and  in  that  way  get  a  holiday. 
One  morning,  about  a  week  before  Christmas,  all  the 
boys  reached  the  schoolhouse  before  the  master  and 
locked  the  door.  Then  they  waited  for  "Old  Peters." 
When  he  came  he  found  the  door  and  windows  fastened. 
He  knew  what  was  up,  and  joined  in  the  fun. 

Presently  a  boy  on  the  inside  said :  "We  must  have  a 
holiday  for  ten  days.  Will  you  give  it  to  us?" 

"No,"  said  the  master. 

"Then  we  will  duck  you,"  said  all  the  boys;  and  the 
door  was  opened  and  the  boys  ran  out.  "Old  Peters" 
ran  down  the  road  with  the  crowd  at  his  heels.  Soon 
they  caught  him  and  started  for  the  creek  near  by;  but 
before  they  got  to  the  water  he  gave  in  and  promised  a 
holiday.  Then  all  went  back  to  the  house,  and  the  mas- 
ter dismissed  school  until  after  the  Christmas  holidays. 

This  was  one  of  the  old  schools  of  the  long  ago.  There 
were  many  others  in  North  Carolina  like  it.  They  were 
small  and  unfurnished,  but  they  did  much  good  in  train- 
ing our  forefathers  to  become  useful  citizens. 


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